Pinpoint
No boundaries to moving closer to work
Pinpoint has now been operating for 16 months. During this time nearly 900 applicants and their families have found new homes and started new lives through Pinpoint. Most of them have moved to be closer to friends, family and support. But there is a group of people who, thanks to Pinpoint, moved closer to another precious “commodity” these days: work.
With Pinpoint, applicants registered with any one of our partner landlords (34 organisations) can apply for flats and houses throughout Greater Manchester without the time-consuming process of registering separately in another authority. As Pinpoint enables customers to consider a move to a different borough, jobseekers can also spread their wings a little further and apply for work in other areas within Greater Manchester.
Robert, 29, had previously rented privately and had to move between landlords a few times before he found out about Pinpoint. As Robert is the main bread winner it was his wife who was searching for their new home and contacting different housing providers. One provider pointed her in the direction of the sub-regional letting scheme. From then on, everything went really quickly and, as Robert points out, would have been even quicker but for waiting for references from previous landlords.
“We moved from Manchester and are very happy with our new house in Bury. I live closer to work and my daughter’s way to school has halved too,” says Robert. After many moves they finally feel more settled and secure. “There are still a few small jobs to do in the house but slowly we are settling down.”
On the other side of Greater Manchester Sarah, 18, is enjoying her new flat in Stockport. She has moved a fair distance from Salford where she lived in temporary accommodation. “I was looking for something near my friends and family but most of all I wanted a secure tenancy,” explains Sarah. She had only started bidding in July this year after Salford Homesearch told her about the new Pinpoint website. A couple of months later she got the keys to her flat and…a job interview! Sarah is waiting for the outcome of the interview at the moment.
“I’m really pleased with the flat. New carpets have just been fitted and I intend to stay here as long as possible. I’m already feeling settled and enjoy having my own home.”
So far, around 900 applicants and their families have been rehoused through Pinpoint. Approximately 30% of them have moved between different boroughs within Greater Manchester.
As Louise Dunsdon, Pinpoint Project Officer, explains: “Pinpoint can help people move into more secure tenancies, nearer to existing employment or new job opportunities. This can help the individual person, the household, the community and ultimately the Manchester City Region to prosper and improve”.
Click here for more information about Pinpoint.
Added 27th November 2009
