Assistant Director of Investment, Sheffield Homes
Janet joined Sheffield City Council in 1980 and, following a career in Finance, Estates Services, Planning & Highways, she joined the Housing Service in 1991. Since then she has been responsible for the delivery of the Housing Capital Programme, the development of the Council’s Housing Investment Strategy, funding submissions and delivery of wider regeneration activities. Since 1996 Janet has developed and extended the use of housing capital and revenue contracting to provide training opportunities.
Janet joined Sheffield Homes in 2004 and has progressed from the delivery of the Decent Homes Programme to developing a 30-year Asset Management Strategy for the stock managed by Sheffield Homes. Working closely with the council, funders and construction partners Janet not only strives to develop plans and procurement strategies but the establishment of quality safety & technical standards for the housing stock.
Key objectives for Janet include the development of Sheffield Homes’ adaptations services and very importantly, setting an ambitious efficiencies agenda which is one of the key reasons why Sheffield Homes is a supportive member of Efficiency North. Through working with other ALMOs, suppliers, manufacturers and contractors and sharing best practice the organisation is able to support the delivery of quality improvements to the housing stock.
In 2005 Janet helped develop the £14m Construction Job Match Programme with Council colleagues and funding providers. The initiative has now enabled over 500 training places across South Yorkshire to be secured with over 269 of these places being in Sheffield and delivered through the Sheffield Decent Homes Programme. The project has also facilitated the development of a number of social enterprises, and offers ongoing support for their long term sustainability.
Janet continues to use investment to address inequality, supporting local businesses, employment and values working with construction partners to develop new relevant initiatives.
Aims and objectives from involvement with Efficiency North
- Working with Efficiency North allows us as a member group, to quickly respond to new government initiatives; new investment strategies; environment and efficiency agendas; new regulations; external funding opportunities;
- To share regional and national strategic developments and to recognise and leverage best practice examples to add value in the delivery of Asset Management and Housing Strategy work;
- To work as a consortium to develop consistent quality technical standards for the work delivered across the Yorkshire & Humber region;
- To benefit from the knowledge exchange that the group encourages and to openly demonstrate and share the learning and expertise brought to the Forum from Sheffield;
- Maximise opportunities to attract further investment for Efficiency North and funding for Asset Management Strategies & Investment Plans.
Successes to date
Successfully delivered year on year Sheffield Homes capital programmes and continues to utilise capital and revenue procurement to deliver wider regeneration objectives for the city.
Funding – secured external funding from Estate Action, SRB Rounds 1, 2 3 and 5, £20m of Housing Market Renewal Funding to carry out environmental improvements as part of the Decent Homes Programme.
Attracted £500m for the Decent Homes Programme and as a result delivered a 269 construction job match training programme and facilitated the establishment of 2 new social enterprises.
Development of long term Asset Management and Sustainable Environment Strategies.
Janet has also worked as part of the project team with HQN as one of the 6 pilot authorities for HRA Self Financing Pilots.
Good practice and lessons learnt
Sheffield Homes is committed to the activities organised by Efficiency North such as benchmarking and the sharing of best practice. Other benefits include the sharing of specifications and joint procurement initiatives and investment delivery models.
A clearer understanding of the different regional approaches has been of great benefit and helped to introduce some of the efficiencies we are keen to achieve through being an integral part of the forum.
Sheffield shares the work of Efficiency North at staff meetings and progress is tabled at tenant and leaseholder forums and on the website.
