City council set for transfer of key services

In recent years, these functions have been carried out via joint venture agreements with Norse, under the banners of Norwich Norse Building (NNB) and Norse Property Services Norwich (NPSN)

However, those arrangements will end next week, bringing to an end a decade of association between the city council and Norse.

Norwich City Services Ltd (NCSL), the council-owned company that has been delivering the city’s environmental services for the past year, has been awarded a multi-year contract to carry out building repairs and maintenance going forward on behalf of the local authority.

Meanwhile property services and investment will be delivered by the city council directly, with all NPSN employees transferring to the council.

Stephen Evans, chief executive of Norwich City Council, said: “Our residents and the services we provide them have been our priority throughout and our focus is firmly on ensuring they transfer as smoothly as possible.

“We’re looking well beyond the transfer date and at future delivery of these services. Part of this involves making sure we have people with the skills and expertise we need, across both workforces, to steer us through an improvement plan.

“The future vision is for closer and more effective working between colleagues and contractors so our residents get more responsive and better services.

“We very much look forward to officially welcoming everyone to the city council – whether that’s employees transferring directly back to the council or into our wholly owned company.”

Hannah Leys, managing director of Norwich City Services Ltd, said: “We had a very successful year delivering environmental services, and a great deal of work has been carried out to ensure we are ready to hit the ground running with the repairs and maintenance services too.

“Our key focus is on transferring the services as smoothly as possible to deliver all works in a timely manner and to a high standard.”