Hawthorn Fields (also known as Sandwell PFI) is a twenty-five year partnership between Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council and Riverside, to deliver housing management, repairs and community services to the residents of the Harvills Hawthorn and Millfields estates in Sandwell.

PFIs (Private Finance Initiatives) are agreements that allow public services to use the finance and expertise of the private sector or, in the case of Riverside, a specialist provider, to deliver specific services under a contractual arrangement.

Tenants within the PFI are tenants of Sandwell MBC rather than Riverside and due to the contract between the two organisations the services offered by Riverside on the PFI area are slightly different to those offered by Riverside elsewhere in the UK. Because of this, Sandwell tenants have a separate customer service centre number (0345 111 0022) and the PFI team work to separate procedures. If you are a PFI tenant in Sandwell you may find it helpful to get in touch with your local team at Hawthorn Fields Neighbourhood Office to understand more about how the PFI affects you.

 Hawthorn Fields Neighbourhood Office, St Vincent Crescent, West Bromwich B70 0LG

Report a repair: Report directly to the customer service centre on 0345 111 0022, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Report fly tipping: Please report online to Sandwell MBC via the My Sandwell portal

Contact my Housing Officers: Visit the Hawthorn Fields Neighbourhood Office or contact the customer service centre on 0345 111 0022.

Pay my rent: The easiest way to pay your rent is via Direct Debit. Contact Pinkie Kumari at the Hawthorn Fields Neighbourhood Office (in person or via the customer service centre) to find out more and to set up a Direct Debit mandate.

You can also pay your rent or service charge via an Easypay card, by cash or cheque to the Neighbourhood Office, any Sandwell Council cash office, any Post Office or a PayPoint outlet, by credit or debit card to the Neighbourhood Office, any Sandwell Council cash office, or to Sandwell Council over the phone on 0845 355 3500 or online at www.sandwell.gov.uk.

Find out about an allocation, banding decision or property application: All allocations, homeless applications and bids are managed directly by Sandwell Council and not by Riverside. Contact Sandwell Council on 0121 569 6000, visit the website here, or pick up an application form from the Hawthorn Fields Neighbourhood Office.

Report anti social behaviour: Report it directly to the customer service centre on 0345 111 0022, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The details will be passed to your Housing Officers, Belinda Morton and Sarah Turner, to follow up who will contact you directly. Please remember to ring 101 (Police non-emergency number) and report it directly to the Police too, and always ring 999 if it’s an emergency.

Request aids and adaptations: If you require any aids and adaptations to help you live in your property independently, contact Denise Heginbotham via the customer service centre on 0345 111 0022 to find out about your options.

Apply for Right to Buy: Visit the Hawthorn Fields Neighbourhood Office or contact the customer service centre on 0345 111 0022 to request a Right to Buy application form.

Get involved in my community: Your community needs you! We are always looking for public-spirited individuals to help us improve our services in a way that benefits your community. Please get in touch with Denise Heginbotham via the Customer Services Centre on 0345 111 0022 to find out about all the ways you can make a difference in your area, including access to funding for community projects and upcoming local events.

Make a complaint, compliment or suggestion: Make any comments to the customer service centre on 0345 111 0022, or in person at the Hawthorn Fields Neighbourhood Office. If you would like to email your comment, contact [email protected]. If your comment relates to a member of staff, please look in our “Meet the Team” section to find their line manager’s contact details.

Sharon Deol: Operations Manager

Sharon oversees the delivery of our contracts in Sandwell and Cosford. Contact Sharon by email to [email protected]

Pritesh Dumasia: Neighbourhood Supervisor

Pritesh supervises the Housing Management team and is ultimately responsible for ensuring tenants get access to the housing services they need. Pritesh is supported by Pinkie Kumari (Income Management Assistant), Jagwant Singh Badesha (Income Collection Assistant), Belinda Morton (Housing Officer), Sarah Turner (Housing Officer), Nichola Foster (Customer Services Assistant and Denise Heginbotham (Community Engagement Officer). Contact Pritesh by email to [email protected].

Lakhy Ralh: PFI Project Supervisor

Lakhy leads the Project team, including all performance monitoring and reporting, such as administrative functions. Improvement and change programmes affecting all four contracts are also delivered by the Projects Team. Lakhy is supported by Kellie Smith (Customer Service Assistant) and Yasmeen Muhammad (Cashier/Admin). Contact Lakhy by email on [email protected].

Resident Conference: We will be holding our next Resident Conference on 29 April 2020 at Gough Arms, Jowetts Lane, West Bromwich, B71 2QR.

All residents are welcome to attend to learn more about our activities, add your comments and feedback on our services, and speak directly to the teams delivering services to you. Please come along! Contact Denise Heginbotham via the Customer Services Centre on 0345 111 0022 for more details.

Estate Walkabouts: Walkabouts are held every month on both the Millfields and Harvills Hawthorn estates, to give residents the opportunity to advise their Housing Officer of estate issues and point out particular problem areas. These walkabouts are vital to help us understand the concerns of local residents and to address them, so get in touch if you would like to help improve your neighbourhood.

Walk-a-Mile: Every month you can join your community engagement officer and other members of the Riverside team on a walk for a mile around the estate – it’s a chance to get a bit of exercise and they are a great opportunity to get to know your local team better and meet other residents.

Your Neighbourhood Reps work as volunteers on your behalf to help improve the services in your community. They check we’re doing what they say we will! More than that, they also give us your feedback, help you resolve any complaints or enquiries with us, and bid for funding for community events and projects. If you would like to know who your local Reps are and how you can contact them, please contact Denise Heginbotham via the Customer Services Centre on 0345 111 0022 for more details.