Solihull Community Housing (SCH) has overhauled its fleet of 70 vans, which are used by staff to deliver vital housing-related services, with the help of Link Asset Services.
SCH manages approximately 10,000 tenanted homes, 1,000 leasehold properties, 5,000 garages, and a small number of shared ownership properties on behalf of Solihull Council. It also oversees around 100 temporary accommodation units, supplemented by private sector leasing properties.
Its service fleet – which consists mainly of Ford Transit Custom vans, along with various other specialist vehicles – are run for general purposes, including storage of tools and materials.
With a large proportion of the service fleet reaching the end of its life, SCH needed to replace a number of vehicles and went out to tender under a process managed by Link Asset Services utilising the Halton Housing Contract Hire Framework.
The new additions to the fleet have been equipped with the appropriate racking, boosting flexibility and performance, while also featuring the latest SCH livery, following a significant rebranding exercise at the organisation.
Carl Wallace, logistics manager at Solihull Community Housing, commented: “With us managing a large number of properties across Solihull, it is essential that the team have the necessary vehicles. Link Asset Services plays a key role in procuring the specification and appropriateness of the fleet in a cost-effective manner. Link is very much our trusted partner in this space.”
Marc Garrett, associate director at Link Asset Services, added: “The team at SCH deliver an excellent service to residents and they rely heavily upon their vehicles to do so. The current renewal is a flagship example of genuinely excellent collaboration between vehicle manufacturer, supplying dealer, vehicle converter and contract hire funder. All these organisations worked harmoniously to get the new vehicles to SCH on time. We have developed a great relationship with the SCH team and look forward to working together in the future.”
