Published on 26/04/2019

The Challenge
 
The London Borough of Southwark is home to some of London's most famous visitor attractions from the Shard and Tate Modern to Shakespeare's Globe, Borough Market and the Imperial War Museum. At the same time however, it has the largest proportion of social housing in England at 31.2% into which the borough has recently invested millions of pounds for physical improvement. The council owns and sets housing policy for a wide range of Housing Association housing blocks which includes a mixture of social, shared and sold housing.
 
The Project
 
Harrow Green has a long-term partnership with Southwark Council as their move partner for domestic moves and storage for tenants in addition to office relocations. They provide a single point of contact for all their moving and storage management system needs.
 
As part of the council's investment in housing stock, Harrow Green help to move residents' furniture and personal effects into alternative accommodation while refurbishments take place, or securely store them where needed. This includes everyone from an individual in a one-bedroom flat to a multi-generational family in a larger property. While some of these moves are straightforward, many are more challenging and require sensitive handling particularly with evictions and people with mental health issues.
 
The council has been consolidating their property portfolio in order to cut costs, and Harrow Green supports them by relocating furniture, IT equipment and other items. Southwark Council has a strong focus on recycling and re-using unwanted assets. Where possible, Harrow Green have resold items to secure revenue for the council; elsewhere they have ensured that assets are reused by local charities or recycled into component parts. In addition, the council needs secure disposal for confidential items such as The Coroner’s Court vast archive which they arranged to have confidentially shredded off site.
 
Previously, the council used three different suppliers for this work. Through ESPO/YPO collaborative framework (655) Harrow Green is now the sole supplier of removals and storage, which has delivered consistency of service and supply for the council in addition to enhanced management information, reporting, and a single point of contact.
 
The Solution

Harrow Green’s experience and expertise in moves, move management and business services enable the council to meet their key objectives and better support their tenants. Their skills in managing stakeholder relationships ensure that residents were moved according to timescales and with great sensitivity especially in delicate situations. The council is delighted with the ongoing partnership which was acquired as part of the ESPO/YPO collaborative framework.

The Results:
 

• Helped tenants with moving and storing their furniture and personal effects during property refurbishments.
• Supported the council with relocations as part of their property consolidation programme.
• Ensured unwanted assets were reused or recycled, providing a revenue to the council.

Client Feedback

“Southwark Council has been working with Harrow Green since October 2016. Harrow Green staff have been very proactive and helpful to bed our arrangement down as well as helping with the transfer of many items from our previous contractors. Harrow Green promptly provides us with the information we require in the format we have requested to enable us to manage the service as efficiently as possible. We look forward to working with Harrow Green as our storage and removals partner in the years ahead.”

Martin Kovats - Programmes & Investigations Manager, Resident Services, Housing and Modernisation, Southwark Council. London Southwark Council Project

To download a printable version of the case study, please click here.
 
For more information on the Removal Solutions framework (655) please click here, or contact the Managing Buildings team on:
 
t: 0116 294 4164   |   e: place@espo.org   |   w: espo.org