Stoke’s housing repairs company is officially launched

Unitas Stoke-on-Trent Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, has been launched to improve services for tenants and raise housing standards in the region.

The housing repairs and maintenance company will deliver services to Stoke-on-Trent’s 18,500 council homes and 600 public buildings, as well as working closely with local businesses - with approximately £17 million worth of work to be spent locally each year on contracts or goods.

The new company takes over the joint venture partnership between the authority and Kier Stoke, which ended at the start of February.

Dave Conway, leader of the city council, said: “I have made clear from the start what I wanted to achieve with the creation of Unitas and I’m proud to have seen my ambitions realised as the company is officially launched. Unitas has been designed to offer an improved, more flexible service for tenants and will ensure that property owned by the council is maintained to a high standard.

“It will also continue our push towards making services more commercially-minded – driving efficiency and supporting the local economy. As a council, we have had to make a lot of difficult decisions as our funding is cut yet demand for services has increased. And by changing the way we do business – such as the formation of Unitas – we are better able to support local people and invest in our great city.”