Bradford’s largest housing provider opens new hubs in the community

Housing provider Incommunities has opened two of a planned five local community hubs, helping customers to access their services face-to-face.

The hubs will mean that customers in Allerton, Bradford and Deighton, Huddersfield can speak to Incommunities staff without having to travel to Shipley or making a home appointment.

The two new hubs are located at Cafe West, in Allerton and Northfield Hall, Deighton, Huddersfield. Incommunities will have a dedicated member of staff on site to assist customers at the drop-in services during the week.

The opening of the Hubs has been welcomed by customers.

Barry Quinn, from Allerton, said: “It’s great that Incommunities have listened to us and put a base in the local community. When I wanted to speak to them before, I had to get two buses to their office in Shipley, so this is just what we needed.”

Lindsey Roche, Head of Neighbourhoods at Incommunities, added: “Customers told us that they wanted us to be more accessible to them locally within their communities where they could come and talk to us.

“We listened to their feedback and have so far opened two community hubs, with three more planned to open later this year in Keighley, Holme Wood and locations are being considered within Bradford City Centre.

“Customers will be able to drop in without an appointment and speak to a neighbourhood housing officer, report repairs and access support to help manage their tenancy or money.

Martin Lacey, Incommunities Neighbourhood Manager for Allerton and surrounding areas, explained why this location was chosen.

He said: “We have over 1800 customers within two miles of Cafe West where the hub is located. By positioning a hub at this centre, we hope to provide greater access to our services for customers living in the Lower Grange, Thornton and Allerton areas, who may struggle to travel to our office based in Shipley to speak with a member of the team in person.

“Cafe West is a fantastic facility and is very well used by the local community, we’re hoping to build on the partnership that we already have with key stakeholders at Cafe West who have been supporting local residents for many years.”

The Cafe West hub is open Monday 11am to 1pm; Wednesday 1pm to 3pm; and Friday 10am to noon.

The Northfield Hall hub opening times are Tuesdays and Thursdays between 9.30am and 3.00pm.