About our retirement housing

Thorngate Living is all about enjoying the comfort and security of living in your own home within a friendly and respectful neighbourhood with warden support.

Thorngate Churcher Trust manages 124 sheltered flats for assisted living. Thorngate Living flats are available to singles and couples of limited means, who are over 50. Uniquely all our flats benefit from 24-hour warden support and all our housing schemes are set in carefully tended and peaceful gardens.

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Benefits of Thorngate living

Emergency Call System
Emergency call system

Accommodation benefits from having a pull cord emergency call system, optional personal pendants and a secure outer door entry system.

Warden support
Warden support

Our warden support team offers round-the-clock cover for emergencies and to help with any routine challenges residents may face.

Gardens
Tranquil gardens

Residents have the option of cultivating their own piece of garden if they wish. There are also greenhouses to grow fresh vegetables.

Repairs & maintenance

The Trust’s directly employed repairs and maintenance team are on hand to deal with any work needed in your flat.

THORNGATE STORIES

Heather

​ Gallagher

, Gosport

I feel very blessed that the Trust gave me a flat and in doing so, a new lease of life. We are really lucky to have the Trust in Gosport.

Testimonial Quote Icon
“ I really love my flat at Melrose Gardens and I am very happy as there is everything I could possibly want. ”
Heather Gallagher

What our residents say

Concerns and complaints

Many people are reluctant to complain. We aim to provide a great home and professional, compassionate, caring service through our own determination to follow best practice.

Sometimes we may miss something, or you might be able to think of how we could do something better. Perhaps we may have fallen short of your expectations. Should this happen we want you to speak up, so that we can resolve any issues and improve the service we offer, as quickly as possible.

For any concerns or complaints please complete our online form and for further details of the process please see our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Complaints

Following the introduction of the Housing Ombudsman’s complaint handling code in September 2020, a complaint is universally defined as:“an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the organisation, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual resident or group of residents.”

Stages

At Thorngate Churcher Trust, our residents are at the heart of what we do, and we are committed to delivering a high-quality service. It’s important to tell us when things go right or when they go wrong so we can continue to improve our service.

Stage 1 – investigation of the complaint

We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days.The investigation is usually carried out by the member of staff appropriately placed to deal with the area of complaint raised and is overseen by the complaints officer.Your complaint will be investigated and responded to within 10 working days from your receipt of your complaint, but it may not always be possible to complete all agreed actions within this period, so an extension would be required. Throughout the extension period we will, however, keep in touch by telephone or other means, to let you the progress of the complaint.

Stage 2 – reviewing the decision

If you’re unhappy with the resolution provided at stage 1, you can ask us to review it.

You must make contact within 20 working days of receipt of the outcome letter in Stage 1, otherwise we will consider the matter closed.

We will aim to send out a written acknowledgment of your request to review your complaint within 5 working days from your receipt of your complaint.

Further investigation and review will take place and we aim to do this and provide a final resolution within 20 days.

Complaint about staff

As with all our complaints, these are triaged to the most relevant person to deal with the complaint.

We will accept complaints about staff and contractor conduct and aim to provide a suitable solution on completion of the complaint investigation.

However, due to the nature of this type of investigation we would not be able to provide information regarding any disciplinary action.

Unhappy with the outcome?

Once you have followed the TCT’s complaints policy and are still unhappy, you can take your complaint directly to the Housing Ombudsman.

The Housing Ombudsman Service can also assist residents throughout the life of a complaint and not just at the point where you have been through our process to encourage earlier and more effective complaint resolution.

Documents linked to our complaints policy

Thorngate Churcher Trust Complaints Policy

Easy read version of Thorngate Churcher Trust Complaints Policy

Housing Ombudsman complaint handling code

Housing Ombudsman Self-Assessment 

Complaints performance and service improvement report 2024/2025

Contact us

We provide several ways for residents to make a complaint:

  • Email using info@thorngate.org.uk (available for use 24/7)
  • Telephone by calling 023 92534999 (apart from bank holidays, available weekdays 9am – 5pm, voicemail facility out of hours)
  • In person, speaking to a warden on site
  • In writing to the Administration office at 10 Clare House
  • In person by visiting the Administration office, 10 Clare House, Melrose Gardens, Gosport PO12 3BZ (apart from bank holidays, available weekdays 9am – 5pm)
  • Online complaint form