Duncan Hames, prospective Lib Dem MP for the Chippenham constituency, has presented Selwood Housing with the award for Quality Housing Standard for customer service

Duncan Hames, prospective Lib Dem MP for the Chippenham constituency, has presented Selwood Housing with the award for Quality Housing Standard for customer service.

John Alford, chair of Selwood Housing said: “The Quality Housing Standard recognises the effort that we put into providing excellent customer service. We were judged by mystery shoppers and auditors across 10 areas including our rent payment service, how we handle complaints, how we manage our estates and our reception and telephone services. In order to keep the mark we will be judged again every year to make sure that we aren’t resting on our laurels and that we are still focused on providing excellent customer service.”

Duncan Hames said: “This award is testament to the hard work of many staff at Selwood, and I congratulate them all on this achievement. It seems that both inspectors and tenants have been giving the team here their seal of approval.”

During his visit Duncan also visited Selwood Housing’s new homes in Broughton Gifford. The homes were developed for people with connections to the village after it was found that there was very little housing that local people could afford. The nine new homes are resplendent with solar panels and NIBE systems that recycle the water in the atmosphere from the kitchen and the bathroom to provide hot water and under-floor heating.

Commenting on the new homes Duncan said: “I know from my time as a West Wiltshire district councillor how important securing affordable housing for local people has been to Broughton Gifford. Parish councillors here have been working long and hard with their partners, especially Selwood, to make it happen. I was particularly impressed with the quality of this appropriately small development, and the measures that have been taken to reduce the environmental impact of these new homes.”

For more information please go to: http://www.selwoodhousing.com

On Wednesday 22nd July, the Lib Dem deputy leader and economics spokesman, Dr Vince Cable MP, came to Chippenham and Melksham to listen to the concerns of local people on the state of the economy, and to give his backing to Duncan Hames’ campaign to be the first MP for the new Chippenham constituency.

In the afternoon, Vince accompanied Duncan Hames to meet with representatives of the local business and education community at the Angel Hotel in Chippenham. Vince took the time to listen to guests’ experiences of the recession and answered questions about the causes of the credit crisis and the Liberal Democrats’ plan to get the economy moving again.

Later, Vince attended a dinner at the Melksham Assembly Hall hosted in his honour by local Lib Dem supporters. In his after dinner speech Vince congratulated local Lib Dems on their recent successes in the June elections and reminded them of the great opportunity they now have to elect Duncan Hames as Wiltshire’s first Lib Dem MP.