Case Studies

Case Studies

Case Studies

contact call+44 (0) 345 8508977

South Wark Council

case study image

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. But at the same time, 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:

Restore 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. We 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, we 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 we support them by relocating furniture, IT equipment and other items. Southwark Council has a strong focus on recycling and re-using unwanted assets. Where possible, we have resold items to secure revenue for the council; elsewhere we 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 we arranged to have confidentially shredded off site.

Previously, the council used three different suppliers for this work. Restore 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.

Our Solution:

Our experience and expertise in moves, move management and business services enable the council to meet their key objectives and better support their tenants. Our 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.

Project Details


Sector:
Public

Organisation:
Southwark Council

Location:
London


What We Did:

  • Help tenants with moving and storing their furniture and personal effects during property refurbishments
  • Support the council with relocations as part of their property consolidation programme
  • Ensure unwanted assets are reused or recycled, providing a revenue to the council

Client Feedback

Southwark Council has been working with Restore Harrow Green since October 2016. Restore 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. Restore 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 Restore 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