Oft-criticised housing repairs firm wins £240 million contract from Thurrock Council

OFTEN much-maligned by tenants for shoddy work – and also frequently in the spotlight when their work has been reviewed in the Thurrock Council chamber – Mears Group Plc is celebrating news that it has been awarded a new £24 million a year contract to look after local social housing repairs.

The deal, if it runs to a possible full ten years, is worth more than £240m in total.

The deal was announced by Gloucester-based Mears on 19 May – but today, 28 days later, Thurrock Council caught up with a local news release.

The new contract will see Mears extending its services to deliver all repairs, compliance and planned investment works and carries an annual value of £24m over an initial 5-year term, with an extension option for a further five years.

Lucas Critchley, Chief Executive Officer at Mears, said: "The strong growth in our traditional maintenance activities has been underpinned by an excellent period of contract retention.

"This award forms part of an intensive period of rebids, which has seen the Group re-awarded contracts amounting to more than £1bn over the last 12 months, including contracts with Milton Keynes City Council, Leeds City Council, Cross Keys Homes and Livin.

"This reflects our strong operational performance and the deep relationships we hold with our clients and within those communities.

"The new contract expands the services previously provided to Thurrock, extending the core maintenance service towards a total asset management solution."

Thurrock Council's release comes a day after Thurrock Nub News revealed it has awarded facilities management of its civic building to another private sector company in a deal which appears to amount to around £20m, though few details have been released by the authority.

In its announcement about Mears today, the council said the new contract will bring: "Better communications with tenants; proactive maintenance to avoid serious repairs and completing more repairs on the first visit are among improvements laid out in the new repairs and maintenance contract for the council's housing."

The council added: "The appointment came after a comprehensive procurement process which was open to other suppliers who were fully considered before the decision was made to reappoint Mears.

"As part of the process, members of the Housing Services Resident Panel evaluated customer care aspects of the tenders.

Improvements to service for tenants:

stronger focus on repairs being carried out on first visits, keeping disruption to a minimum
a Repairs App enabling tenants to upload photos for more accurate visual diagnosis which will inform the repair request
Communications with residents will be clearer at every stage, with regular updates, text message alerts about operative arrival times and tracking when repair teams are on route
Maintaining and improving the quality of homes through better planning and early intervention helping to prevent issues before they arise
Tenants will have more choice in how services are accessed with easy-to-use digital options alongside traditional ways to get in touch
Tenant feedback, via the Mears App, will play a key role in shaping how the service continues to improve

Cllr Rob Willoughby, portfolio holder for adult health and housing services, said: "Housing services, supported by tenants from our Resident Panel, went through an exhaustive procurement process for the repairs and maintenance contract. This new contract will provide more proactive maintenance to avoid serious repairs issues, enhanced communications and other improvements that provide the service our tenants need and deserve."

A frequent critic of Mears – particularly over repairs and botched remedial action against damp and mould in tower blocks was former mayor and ex Conservative councillor Joy Redsell.

During her tenure as a councillor she raised the question of Mears' capability several times.

Mrs Redsell, a former onservative councillor for Little Thurrock Blackshots - the ward where Cllr Willoughby was recently elected - said: "You don't always get what you pay for and some residents feel that.

"You see that with Blackshots flats. There in such a state of mould and god knows what. You wouldn't want any of your family to live in there because it's horrible. Mears can go in there and as we've heard many times they've just gone over the top with paint and it's all come back again.

"Mears pass out to contractors and contractors then it gets further and further away from Mears and they don't have any control over who is going out. That's where we see the bad parts."

Other councillors also raised concerns Inadequate supervision of subcontractors by Mears.

Mears was also called to account in January 2023 when the council announced it was considering the company for a further extension on its contract which was due to run out in February 2025. However, it also appeared to be looking favourably at a deal with another company, Morgan Sindall, which ran housing repairs in neighbouring Basildon. Staff from Morgan Sindall made presentations about its work to councillors and appeared to be a significant competitor for the local council's business.

However, last year Basildon Council said it was not going to renew its contract with Morgan Sindall and instead it would bring the service in-house, establishing an internal Direct Labour Organisation which would "focus on value for money, legal compliance, and consistently high standards of service."

Over the decade of its past contract with Mears - and other companies - Nub News and other media outlets have consistency reported on the poor management, lack of quality and consistent failures in the council's maintenance of its homes. This historic extensive report in the Metro highlighted many failings.

Concluding today's announcement, the council said: "The new contract also will bring wider community benefits including provision of an additional 100 apprenticeships during the first five years, supported by a new training academy,

"Jobs and work placements for local people and targeted community initiatives.

"Mears will also be engaging with local businesses and suppliers, supporting local charities and rolling out a Sports Inclusion Grant Project to help community led sports groups addressing mental health, anti‐social behaviour and social isolation."

The blighted bl;ocks: https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/more-concerns-about-blighted-tower-block-in-wake-of-fire

Hundreds of properties are affected by damp and mould: https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/report-tells-councillors-authority-is-improving-in-the-way-it-deals-with-damp-and-mould-but-hundreds-of-properties-are-still-affected

Problem isn't going away: https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/mould-and-damp-issue-isn39t-going-away-as-more-and-more-tenants-come-forward-and-wider-media-starts-to-dig

Cheapskate homes policy fails to impress: https://thurrock.nub.news/news/local-news/thurrock39s-cheapskate-repairs-policy-fails-to-impress-woman-with-a-leaking-ceiling-was-told-to-use-an-umbrella-when-visiting-the-toilet-cancer-victim-falls-through-floor-we-look-at-how-and-why-the-system-fails