Agenda and minutes

Appendix A lists those Tenants’ and Residents’ Associations (TRAs), which have satisfactorily completed the registration process at the date of despatch of this agenda. It gives details of the representatives of those Associations to be co-opted onto the DMC, in accordance with the constitution, together with the names of the substitutes.

Appendix B lists those TRAs whose registrations have lapsed. If a TRA wishes to register it must hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM), open to all members, once a year (with an independent observer in attendance). The minutes must be sent to the Tenant Participation Team together with a membership list and a completed registered form.

The DMC considered the list of registered tenant and resident associations (TRAs) provided by the Tenant Participation Service listed at Appendix A to the agenda and those TRAs whose registration had lapsed, which were listed at Appendix B.

RESOLVED –

THAT the ‘A’ and ‘B’ lists be noted.

To agree the election of Chair for 2022/23 meeting year.

Nominations were received for Derek Jarman and Petra Dando.

Petra Dando expressed gratitude for the nomination but did not wish to stand due to her commitments as Chair of the Camden Association of Street Properties Committee.

No other nominations were received.

Therefore, it was resolved

Resolved –

THAT Derek Jarman be elected Chair for the 2022/2023 Municipal Year.

That the Chair be allowed to hold the meeting remotely

RESOLVED –

THAT the Chair be authorised to hold the DMC meeting as a remote meeting.

To elect up to two Vice-Chairs of the DMC for the 2022/23 meeting year, including a senior Vice-Chair to become acting Chair should the need arise.

Nominations were received for Momota Khatun and Jane McWilliams. There were no further nominations.

Therefore, it was 

Resolved –

THAT Momota Khatun and Jane McWilliams be elected Vice-Chairs for the 2022/23 Municipal Year. 

Apologies for absence were received from Josh Cedar, Andrew Peirce and Sue Robertson and Sophie Rodger. 

There were no announcements.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no notifications of any items of urgent business.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Kentish Town District Management Committee held on 8 March 2022

Consideration was given to the minutes of the previous meeting.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 8^th March 2022 be approved as a correct record.

The DMC is asked to note the progress of the action points arising from the previous meeting.

Consideration was given to the progress report actions points arising from the previous meeting.

The Chair requested that information be sought on the viability of installing solar panels on the flat roofed properties.

Report of the Director of Housing Management and the Director of Property Services.

The DMC is asked to discuss and comment on the sections of the consolidated report that are of particular interest to members during the meeting.

The June 2022 consolidated Housing Services report was compiled following feedback from DMC members at recent meetings and arising from specific requests from DMC chairs during their April agenda setting with the Cabinet Member. It includes Housing Management & Property Services performance and other requested reports.

Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Housing Management and the Director of Property Management.

Capital Works Update

Angela Spooner, Head of Landlord Services, updated the meeting on Capital Works drawing particular attention to the works that were to be undertaken to make homes more efficient. This work was crucial, especially in the context of rising fuel costs. 

Michael Killeen, Head of Strategic Asset Management & Compliance, reported that works to windows, heating system, and roofing was planned to go ahead. Procurement activities were underway, and in some cases, the tendering stage had been completed.

DMC Members were pleased that the retrofitting work was progressing and asked what retrofitting work was going to be undertaken on street properties, especially as the design of these properties in Kentish Town meant that they were expensive to heat and fuel poverty was high in the area.

The Head of Strategic Asset Management & Compliance advised that pilot programmes for street properties had been undertaken and the Council would soon be in a position to begin retrofitting works on Street Properties. A briefing note would be provided.

ACTION: Head of Strategic Asset Management & Compliance

Voids Improvement Programme Update

Angela Spooner, Head of Landlord Services, advised that there had been a reduction in voids and there had been 28% more lettings than there had been pre-Covid in 2019/20. There had also been improvements in sheltered schemes and long-term voids. Strong performance had meant that the £1milion savings target had been achieved. There would be a continued focus on improvement in order to achieve further savings targets.

Responding to a question about sheltered schemes, the Head of Landlord Services advised that those moving into sheltered accommodation would be moving out of previous tenancies and some will be completely new tenants.

DMC Members discussed issues with the allocation system and were concerned that some tenants who needed to move into more suitable accommodation, due to overcrowding for example, chose not to as they were not able to move within their community and would be placed elsewhere in the Borough so chose to stay in unsuitable accommodation.

The Head of Landlord Services explained that allocation scheme is Borough Wide so did not allow distinctions with regard to areas and those people who most overcrowding points get priority. The scheme had to be adhered to and allocation outside the scheme would be illegal. The scheme would be reviewed but it was a lengthy process, and a consultation would be required.

DMC Members recalled that there was previously an inter-estate housing policy and when a review of the allocation scheme was undertaken this should be considered.

Housing Repairs Contact Centre

Danny Waite, Head of Repairs and Operations, introduced the section on the housing repairs contact centre and provided an update on online repair reporting and call handling, highlighting that there had been a 40 – 50% decrease in call volumes, so calls were able to be answered more quickly, as more people used webchat to report repairs.

Responding to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

Proposals of the DMC Chairs (2021/22)

To consider proposals following on from the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaints Handling Code 2022.

The Chair introduced the paper and gave an overview of the proposals.

The paper was noted.

Report of the Head of Landlord Services.

In line with the DMC funding guidelines, TRAs will be asked to provide an update to the meeting regarding the progress of agreed bids, including an update on the associated spend. TRAs are invited to circulate any relevant information in advance through the clerk.

TRAs are encouraged to submit bids as soon as possible, so they can be properly assessed and prepared by officers, ready for submission to the DMC. TRAs are reminded that verbal bids cannot be accepted at DMC meetings as, in line with the guidelines, officers need to be able to assess bids before passing them to the DMC.

For more information on DMC bids, please see our webpages: www.camden.gov.uk/dmcbids.

Consideration was given to a report of the Head of Landlord Services.

Tara Cookson introduced the report and outlined the bids received, also reminding DMC Members of the bid criteria and process.

The meeting was advised that the bid for bike hangars at Abingdon Close was withdrawn by Camden Square TRA, due to lack of support by the residents.

The bids from Raglan TRA and Castle Road TRA were not agreed as representatives from these TRAs were not in attendance at the meeting.

Therefore, it was

RESOLVED –

THAT the following bids requests be approved:

Report of the Head of Landlord Services

The DMC is asked to note the report and make any relevant comments.

This report provides an update of recent news within the Kentish Town DMC Ward boundary since the last meeting.  As previously requested, TRAs are asked to submit items for inclusion in the report that they wish to share

Consideration was given to a report of the Head of Landlord Services.

Tara Cookson, Neighbourhood Manager, introduced the report and gave an overview of local updates.

An update was sought on the progress of a payment to of a bid from Ingestre Road TRA, which had not yet been received. The Neighbourhood Manager advised that an update on this payment would be provided by the end of the week.

The meeting discussed the bin store area at Leighton Crescent, it was noted that work on this project was ongoing and there were some issues to work out to ensure that the bins would fit. However, the project had come in under budget so the funding would be used on additional projects on the estate.

The report was noted.

The information was noted.

There was none.