Agenda and minutes

Representatives from the following Associations were in attendance:

Churchill Place Tenants’ and Residents’ Association

Harrow Federation of Tenants’ and Residents’ Associations

Harrow Sheltered Residents’ Association

Honeybun Tenants’ and Residents’ Association

Kenmore Park Tenants’ and Residents’ Association

Little Stanmore Tenants’ and Residents’ Association

To note the attendance at this meeting of any duly appointed Reserve Members.

Reserve Members may attend meetings:-

(i)                 to take the place of an ordinary Member for whom they are a reserve;

(ii)               where the ordinary Member will be absent for the whole of the meeting; and

(iii)             the meeting notes at the start of the meeting at the item ‘Reserves’ that the Reserve Member is or will be attending as a reserve;

(iv)              if a Reserve Member whose intention to attend has been noted arrives after the commencement of the meeting, then that Reserve Member can only act as a Member from the start of the next item of business on the agenda after his/her arrival.

RESOLVED:  To note that there were no reserve Members in attendance.

To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary or non pecuniary interests, arising from business to be transacted at this meeting, from:

(a)               all Members of the Forum;

(b)               all other Members present.

RESOLVED:  To note that the following interests were declared:

·                    Miss Paddy Lyne declared that she is the Chair of Harrow Citizens’ Advice Bureau.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 30 April 2014 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting of the 30 April 2014 be deferred to the next meeting of the Tenants’ Leaseholders’ and Residents’ Consultative Forum.

To receive any public questions received in accordance with Executive Procedure Rule 50 (Part 4D of the Constitution).

Questions will be asked in the order notice of them was received and there be a time limit of 15 minutes.

[The deadline for receipt of public questions is 3.00 pm, Friday 27 June 2014. Questions should be sent to publicquestions@harrow.gov.uk  

No person may submit more than one question].

RESOLVED: To note that no public questions were put, or petitions or deputations received at this meeting.

The Chair proposed and Members of the Forum agreed that the Appointment of a Vice-Chair item was omitted from the agenda in error, and a Vice-Chair would be appointed as the first item.

RESOLVED:  That Councillor Mrs Camilla Bath was appointed Vice-Chair of the Tenants’, Leaseholders’ and Residents’ Consultative Forum.

Report of the Divisional Director of Housing Services.

An Officer presented the report of the Divisional Director of Housing Services, which included the following:

·                    there were 42 Right-To-Buy applications pending, and 40 sales were projected for the year 2014/15;

·                    rental arrears currently stood at £487,764;

·                    Housing Fraud Officers had been appointed, and tenancy audits had been exhausted as a means of finding fraudulent tenants;

·                    two thirds of inspections had been completed, and all repair works would be subject to post-inspection;

·                    the Annual General Meeting of the Leaseholders’ Support Group would take place on 23 June 2014;

·                    Members of the Forum were requested to comment on different ways in which the Forum could operate in the future, and consider the proposal to host the Forum at various different locations to engage with the local residents.

After taking questions from Members of the Forum, an Officer commented that staffing problems had caused delays in the review of Sheltered Accommodation, and this review was now likely to take place in August 2014.

Members of the Forum commented that:

·                    in other areas, the location of tenants’ and leaseholders’ forums would change, to encourage more engagement and interaction;

·                    it may be beneficial to move the Forum to areas where more engagement was needed, and ensure the agenda for that particular Forum was relevant to the area it was being held in;

·                    although the Civic Centre was a recognisable and relatively accessible meeting place, it would still be beneficial to explore the possibility of moving the Forum to other areas in order to engage with people and increase attendance at future meetings of the Forum;

·                    in theory, moving the location of the Forum seemed to be a good idea, however many administrative and logistical issues would need to be taken into account, such as parking;

·                    Tenants and Residents are very keen to have a conversation with Harrow Council, but may be intimidated by a large Consultative Forum.   As such, it may be appropriate to slightly alter the format of the Forum if it was to be held at different locations;

·                    user-friendly notes used to be distributed alongside the minutes, this was a good idea and should be reinstated as soon as possible;

·                    a separate structure may be suitable, with smaller, more tailored meetings taking place on estates with a view to encouraging tenants, leaseholders and residents to attend the Consultative Forum, which would be dealing with Borough-wide issues;

·                    the Chair of the Leaseholder Support Group had been reinstated and the treasurer had changed;

·                    there had been a high rate of rent income collection, and Housing Services had tried to minimise and mitigate the effects of welfare reform.  Many families had been helped through targeted work, a Rent Arrears Officer had been appointed to work evenings and weekends and steps were being taken to ensure that tenants and leaseholders knew what benefits they would be eligible for;

·                    the Pocket Park had been successful and had been granted Mayor’s Funding;

·                    the Value for Money group had met on 17 June 2014, items on the agenda included  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Report of the Divisional Director of Housing Services.

An Officer presented the report of the Divisional Director of Housing Services, which included the following:

·                    Contract Appraisal Panels had been taking place, which had helped to improve performance from contractors.  Resident representatives would be visiting contractor offices for an auditing exercise during July – August;

·                    delivery of the capital programme had been slower than expected, but steps had been taken towards procurement for internal improvements;

·                    the priority was to keep tenants, residents and leaseholders engaged and updated about progress, savings made and procurement;

·                    gas safety inspections were a high priority, with a target of 100% against the current rate of 99.5%.

After taking questions from Members of the Forum, an Officer commented that:

·                    the plans discussed at the Brainstorming Day with Asset Management were being implemented.

Members of the Forum also commented that:

·                    it would be beneficial if the number of apprenticeships were increased;

·                    the current administration would push to increase the number of apprenticeships offered, as per their pre-election manifesto.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.

Report of the Divisional Director of Housing Services.

An Officer provided an update on the Homes for Harrow programme, via the report circulated with the agenda and a presentation.  The update included the following:

·                    50 new homes were proposed to be built on 18 different sites;

·                    a breakdown of what sort of homes were to be built on the different sites;

·                    attendance statistics for consultations events regarding the homes;

·                    outcomes for the feasibility studies that had been undertaken for each site.

Following questions and comments from Members of the Forum, an Officer commented that:

·                    there would be consultations on all aspects of the development, including whether or not the bungalows to be built on Binyon Crescent would be gated;

·                    resident engagement was a key priority, and Housing Services would aim for a balance between providing as many homes as possible and ensuring that homes were spacious and energy efficient, to ensure the longevity of the builds;

·                    residents would prefer a play area on Hazeldene Drive rather than garages that could attract anti-social behaviour;

·                    Housing and their consultant architects would work closely with Planning Services to ensure that any new buildings were in an appropriate style for the area;

·                    different options for improving energy efficiency to meet sustainability requirements were being considered which might include solar panels and ground source heat pumps, subject to value for money to achieve a solution which could minimise fuel costs for residents;

·                    Harrow Council would build homes in accordance with the Mayor’s London Housing Design Standards, which would ensure minimum space standards were met.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.

RESOLVED:  To note that there were no additional agenda items suggested, but updates would be provided at the next meeting via the usual items.

Which cannot otherwise be dealt with.

RESOLVED: To note that there was no other urgent business.

RESOLVED:  To note that the date of the next meeting would be 5 November 2014.