Housing providers in Newcastle City Centre can now benefit from a new one-stop-shop building
and maintenance hub designed to help them navigate the demands and challenges of supplying safe and quality
social housing to local residents.
Launched last week by Jewson Partnership Solutions (JPS), the AVAIL Housing Hub will bring
together a host of benefits including material supply, stock management technology, waste
disposal and expert training, to tackle the many challenges of modern social housing, including
changing legislation, health and safety, rising costs, and decarbonisation regulations.
Providers of social housing in the Newcastle area will have access to the hub’s large external yard
and warehouse, storing a wealth of products for construction, maintenance and repairs. JPS will
apply its automated replenishment technology to ensure levels of stock – which are selected
specifically to support social landlords with their key challenges – are always maintained, and
materials can also be made available for customers out of hours.
A fleet of vehicles are available for delivery of products and materials to different sites and
properties, either direct to operative or to AVAIL’s Smart Collection points located at convenient
spots around the city. There is an on-site ‘drop and go’ waste offer, allowing users to save valuable
time in the usual waste separation process. Finally, the hub provides its own training academy,
available to any AVAIL Housing Hub customer and their tenants, offering training on new product
launches and construction processes. Courses are also available for 16-24 year olds looking to
enter the job market, delivered in conjunction with charity YouthBuild.
The hub will be located next to the Byker Estate in the centre of the city, which is one of the most
deprived areas in England, according to Government data. Newcastle has a high percentage of
social housing in its city centre region compared to others in the UK, at around 50% of its 75,000
dwellings. JPS has promised to reinvest a percentage of the profit made at the hub into the local
community, working with the Greggs Foundation to provide schools in the area with free
breakfasts.
Scott Cooper, managing director of JPS, said: “Housing associations are feeling more pressure
than ever as they look to provide better social housing for less. From an all-time-high level of
repairs and compliance requirements, to decarbonisation targets and a need to improve indoor air
quality, social landlords are also doing what they can to raise the standards of their properties
while the cost of materials continues to rise and labour becomes more scarce.
“The AVAIL Housing Hub is designed to make our customer’s lives easier in the face of these
challenges. Operational efficiency is key to help landlords to identify ways of working that will save
money, while guidance is also needed to help them choose the right products to deliver the homes
of the future. We bring all of that under one roof, acting as a supply partner that truly understands
their needs and that can help them deliver on their objectives.
“Our large facility can stock ample materials that can be segregated by customer, minimising the
financial risk for landlords who’d normally need to manage their own stock levels on site. This,
combined with an option to manage waste efficiently, comprehensive product delivery options and
training and workshops delivered by our experts, will help Newcastle’s housing providers to
improve the living standards of their tenants, whilst constructing and maintaining better homes
and building a stronger future for the city’s communities.”
The hub in Newcastle is open now. For more information, visit
https://www.jewsonpartnershipsolutions.com/avail
