In order to maintain heating for its residents and stay gas compliant, LiveWest runs an extensive planned programme of annual new boiler installations as well as regular servicing and emergency works across its properties in Somerset and the West of England.

Gregor Heating has been the boiler installation, repair and servicing partner of LiveWest, for over six years and for many years previously as Knightstone HA (in excess of 15 years in total).  

Gas servicing programme

Our dedicated service team is responsible for carrying out gas servicing for over five thousand LiveWest properties with around 450-650 service appointments for us to complete each month.

Together the two organisations developed a shared IT system interface to keep booking information and engineer progress up to date in real time.

The main logistical challenge is seeking access to properties. This is a three step process that we are also involved with but working closely with the Gas Safety Team Leader, we manage it well and look to maintain a good track record of zero overdues.

Boiler installation programme

With planned boiler installations, there are around 175 properties each year including urgent replacements. LiveWest sends the programme at the start of the year then our dedicated installation team plans which properties they’ll go to each month. We also provide a health and safety plan including all relevant training to support the contract.

“Gregor Heating is a family-oriented business – very friendly, that’s also very professional. The administration team is very good at answering any queries. Their customer service is top notch and they always go out of their way to help when they can. They’re a really nice company to have working for us.”

Richard Humphries, Project Manager, LiveWest

Providing a fast response service

As a boiler can break down at any moment, emergency heating repair works are less predictable. LiveWest takes the calls in their customer contact centre and then hand them over to our team to arrange the emergency appointment with the resident.

To maximise the engineers’ ability to complete a first-time fix, our vans are all stocked with common parts. We also check with the planned install team to check where a boiler is close to needing replacement, to choose the most economical option for LiveWest.

Boiler replacements include a full survey and they are able to turn properties around quickly, fitting the new boiler within one day in most cases to ensure vulnerable residents are not left without heating or hot water.

LiveWest’s Resident Satisfaction Survey monitors our performance regularly so we can address any challenges or issues quickly.

• Customer service – 96%
• Quality of work – 94%
• Completions within agreed timescales – 96%

“We originally chose Gregor Heating because of their track record and reliability. We have a really open and honest relationship with them, with common objectives for great customer service and a strong safety ethic.  They are locally based, know our customers well and they share our value of working together in partnership for the long term.”

David Greenhalgh, Executive Director Property Services, LiveWest

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The housing development project being built by developer, Willmott Dixon, involves Bristol City Council building and selling private homes in order to fund social housing.

The project is Phase 3 of the council’s New Build Housing Programme to increase the supply of new homes in the city and tackle the city’s housing crisis.

The industry-leading development demonstrates how low carbon heating solutions, such as ground source heat pumps, can be used at scale as an alternative to mains gas. It paves the way for house builders to transition to zero carbon, in line with the government’s proposed Future Homes Standard, which is set to mandate that gas boilers can no longer be fitted in new build homes from 2025.

Ground source heat pumps have been specified for the Ashton Rise project. A shared ground loop of 36 vertical boreholes are being drilled up to 170m deep, to collect low-grade stored heat energy from underground. Pipework will feed this energy into individual heat pumps within each property, which upgrade the heat energy to temperatures high enough to provide 100% of the heating and hot water for each home.

The ground source heat pump technology will ensure homeowners receive equivalent performance to a gas boiler, but with extremely low carbon dioxide emissions, up to 70% less than gas, with zero local nitrogen oxide and sulphur emissions.

Gregor Heating is working alongside Kensa Contracting, who are responsible for the ground array infrastructure at the site, to install the ground source heat pumps and hot water cylinders. The Gregor team is also responsible for installation of the new plumbing system for the entire site.

“It is an exciting time for the industry”, said Craig Jeffaries, Gregor Heating’s director. “This is the start of the Bristol City Council’s commitment to using renewable heat in new homes and it’s great to see Bristol leading the way in using technology that seeks to reduce carbon footprint and save money on energy bills.”

David Broom, Kensa Contracting Commercial Director, added, “By installing ground source heat pumps in new homes, Bristol City Council is creating a pathway to zero carbon  in line with the ambitious targets for the city. Projects such as Ashton Rise that take advantage of shared ground loop array system architecture demonstrate the ability to deliver this practically as well as the benefits and scalability of the technology.”

Bristol Mayor, Marvin Rees, recently commented on the council website: “Building homes remains a top priority for us. We are not just building houses, we are trying to build quality homes and create communities where people can thrive.”

Completion is expected in Spring 2021.

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Getting feedback from happy customers helps us to continually improve our service. When working with housing associations, like Solon South West Housing Association, we provide a dedicated customer service team so residents can discuss their concerns and book in any repairs or servicing they may need.

“Gregor Heating explained the problem clearly and thoroughly. The engineer even left two heaters as the current boiler is likely to pack up. I was very pleased with his solution that will keep us going until the new parts arrive.” Solon South West Housing Association Resident

Richard James, development director at Solon South West Housing Association added;

“Having an effective heating and hot water system in our homes is essential. Providing great customer service is also a high priority for our customers. Solon is very pleased to be working with Gregor to provide comfortable homes and great service to our customers. Our strong relationship and excellent team work mean that together, we provide a high quality service to our customers.”

So here’s a special shout out to our dedicated team for Solon South West Housing Association. Katie Stone is our customer service agent working closely alongside engineers, Dan Worgan (servicing), and John Miller (boiler breakdowns) who all go above and beyond in their customer service to ensure Solon’s residents are kept warm and cosy. On occasion, residents may see one of our other engineers if staff are on holiday or running a marathon (John!), but we’re always on hand to help.

Gregor Heating’s managing director, Steve Gregor said,

“The commitment and hard work shown by team members like Katie, Dan and Jon means we continue to build strong partnerships with local housing associations such as Solon South West Housing and perfectly matches our ethos “We’re not happy, until you’re happy, that is the Gregor Guarantee.”

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Over the last six years we have built a strong relationship with the Society, by working together to service, maintain and install central heating systems to ensure their residents are kept safe and warm.

We are now delighted to announce that following a rigorous selection process, we have been appointed as main contractor for maintenance, servicing and installation of central heating systems, for their entire property portfolio starting 1^st April 2017, for five years.

Vic Wheeler, Gregor Heating’s Operations Manager said; “The rigorous selection process included interviews, presentations and visits from the Society’s management team but the team successfully rose to the challenge. We are now looking forward to building on the strong working relationship we already have with the Society’s management team and residents.”

Martin Carney, South Western Housing Society’s Operations Director added;

“Gregor Heating was awarded this five year contract because of their technical expertise, high standards of workmanship and customer service. We look forward to working with Gregor Heating, to continue to provide an excellent service for our residents, that will exceed their expectations.”

Pictured:

Steve Gregor, Gregor Heating’s Managing Director (left foreground),

Martin Carney, South Western Housing Society’s Operations Director (middle foreground)

Vic Wheeler, Gregor Heating’s Operations Manager (right)

Neil Buckland, SWHS Asset Manager (background middle)

Nigel Marsh, Partner – Baker Ruff Hannon consultants (background left)

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Recently, a 92 year old resident in Chywoon Gardens, Redruth, was struggling with her heating bills. The property in question had an electric boiler and night storage heaters – not the most efficient heating arrangement!

We therefore spoke to Wales and West and had the property connected to mains gas. This done, we installed a new, efficient Worcester Bosch gas boiler and central heating system together with a new thermostat and radiator where they could be easily accessed by the resident.

Our engineers worked around the resident and got everything in just one day.

Debbie Hill, Housing Officer at The Guinness Partnership said

“The Gregor engineers were outstanding – they arrived at the crack of dawn and let themselves in (I supplied them with keys and alarm fobs) and worked until late without stopping for a break. They caused the minimum of disruption and put everything back in place leaving everything clean and tidy. I have also spoken to a couple more residents who have had heating installed and they sang the guys praises.”

As a result of the new install, the tenant has an energy efficient property and should have reduced heating bills. Alongside this, they won’t have to struggle to change the thermostat. All in a days’ work!

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It provides supported accommodation for 16-24 year olds who are having difficulties at home, are faced with homelessness or are just looking to live on their own for the first time. Residents are helped to develop critical life skills such as money management, as well as with achieving their education, employment and training goals.

We recently visited 84 Severn Road to improve the energy efficiency of the property. As many of the tenants are on low income benefits, their heating bills can be tough to pay.

We replaced their existing, inefficient boiler with the latest Worcester Bosch boiler that will help reduce the energy bills for the young residents. We also installed an unvented hot water cylinder to feed the showers which will offer much better water flow rates, meaning the shower performance should be higher.

Alongside helping with their heating needs, we also support Knightstone in their mission to provide new opportunities to improve local employment and training.

We recently donated college packs to the residents of 84 Severn Road, full of pens, paper and essential stationery, to help the students studying plumbing or construction. Many of the students are on benefits so they don’t have the money to spend on such items.

Lynne Sims, a Support Worker at Severn Road said, “We are really grateful for the support from Gregor Heating. It’s small act to donate stationery but it’s one that will really make a difference to our residents who may not be able to afford such essentials.”

We’re thrilled to be able to help make a difference to the lives of these young adults and strive to continue to do so by offering work experience and support when and where we can.

Pictured left: New Worcester Bosch boiler

Pictured right: Lynne Sims, Support Worker at 84 Severn Road.

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We’ve continued to support the Community Group for a quite a few years and have also provided staff help and free bottled water at their last two Summer Fetes.

Hope you find it useful guys! 🙂 #GregorGiving

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