Press release
Nottingham Community Housing Association drives for national
recognition with a new computer network
- ntl:Telewest Business delivers (IP) Internet Protocol
infrastructure in three phase project
- Return on investment expected in less than 20 months
- NCHA tenants to benefit from better customer care thanks to
VoIP and better call handling
21st June 2006. Nottingham Community Housing Association, the
largest locally based provider of housing in East Midlands has
joined forces with ntl:Telewest Business to roll out an IP
infrastructure. The new IP environment will combine data, voice
calls and access to the Internet over a single network, delivering
significant savings for the Association.
Nottingham Community Housing Association (NCHA) looks after
10,000 tenants in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire,
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland. The association
offers affordable homes for rent, sale on a shared-ownership basis
and outright sale. It also provides 1,500 bed spaces for people in
need and requiring support.
The new IP network from ntl:Telewest Business is set to overhaul
internal and external communication at NCHA and aid its expansion
as a national housing provider. Immense cost savings and return on
investment are expected in less than 20 months.
A new IP call centre will handle incoming customer calls. NCHA
tenants will be able to contact any relevant department under a
single 0845 number for a lo-call charge. At the same time, call
centre agents will gain capacity to handle calls faster, monitor
them better as well as record for future reference, ultimately
improving customer care and satisfaction.
Internally, 655 employees of NCHA located across eight disparate
offices will benefit from faster Internet connection, easier access
to headquarters resources as well as ability to work from home.
”NCHA has traditionally been at the forefront of innovations,
having pioneered ‘city living’ developments. For us, IP is the only
way forward. Not only will it improve our communication processes
with staff and customers, but also save a lot of money. The more we
save, the more houses we can build.”, said Robert Moorey, IT
Manager, Nottingham Community Housing Association.
John Cunningham, Director of Business Markets, ntl:Telewest
Business said: “Having combined its voice and data over a single IP
network, NCHA will gain better visibility and control over its IT
investment, while enabling NCHA to offer better service and value
for money to its customers.”
About Nottingham Community Housing
Association
Nottingham Community Housing Association (NCHA) is the largest
locally based housing association in the east midlands with a staff
of 650 looking after 7,000 homes housing 10,000 tenants in
Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire,
Northamptonshire and Rutland.
We have been developing new homes since 1973 and we provide a
varied and complex range of products to meet different housing
needs.
We currently provide the following affordable homes:
- For rent
- For sale on a shared-ownership basis
- For outright sale.
We also have the largest provision of housing with care and
support in the east midlands with 1,500 bedspaces for people with
mental health problems, physical and learning disabilities; women
and children fleeing violence; Asian elders; and vulnerable young
people.
In 2004, the successful work of NCHA was recognised by the
Housing Corporation - the central government body which funds and
regulates all housing associations - and awarded special
Partnership status - and made lead Partner in the east
midlands. An initial allocation of £22.5m in grant funding to
build 638 homes during those two years, was supplemented with a
further £6.5m in grant providing an extra 100 homes in the
same two year period.
The current allocation to NCHA, as part of the consortium with
the Longhurst Group is just over £17m of Social Housing Grant,
which would provide for the production of 473 new homes during the
2006-08 investment programme. This is part of a total
allocation to the consortium of more than £56m to build
approximately 1350 dwellings
The Chief Executive, Andrew Malone, OBE, has been in post
since NCHA was founded and is one of the longest serving heads of
any housing association.
Find us on www.ncha.org.uk
where you will also find our Annual Report on line.
About ntl:Telewest Business
ntl:Telewest Business, part of the UK’s second
largest fixed-line telecommunications company, is a leading
communications provider to businesses, public sector organisations
and service providers in the UK. It delivers a complete portfolio
of voice, data and internet solutions nation-wide.
ntl:Telewest Business sales and support
teams are located across the UK, in close proximity to our
customers, as part of a commitment to deliver superior customer
service.
ntl:Telewest Business delivers services over
the Group’s £13bn investment in its state-of-the-art
infrastructure giving business customers access to the largest
alternative network in the UK.
ntl:Telewest Business is trusted to provide
critical communications to high profile customers
including: Heathrow's Terminal 5, Birmingham City Council
and Cambridgeshire County Council.
For further information go to http://www.ntltelewestbusiness.co.uk/
ntl:Telewest Business press contacts: