Agenda and minutes

That the Chair be authorised to host the DMC as a remote meeting due to the exceptional circumstances of the Coronavirus National Emergency.

RESOLVED –

THAT the Chair be authorised to hold this meeting as a remote meeting due to the Coronavirus National Emergency.

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.

RESOLVED –

THAT the ‘A’ and ‘B’ lists be noted.

Apologies for absence were received from John Webb (Kennistoun & Willingham TA).

There were no announcements.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no notifications of any items of urgent business.

To approve the minutes of the meetings of the Kentish Town District Management Committee held on 1^st December 2020 and 5^th January 2021.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meetings held on 1^st December 2020 and 5^th January 2021.

Sue Robertson said that the reference on the 4^th page of the 5^th January minutes (page 20 of the agenda pack) to “lightbulbs” should be “lampposts”.

Danny Waite, Head of Repairs and Operations, said officers were monitoring OpenView to ensure that incomplete work like that was completed.

RESOLVED –

(i)            THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 1^st December 2020 be approved as a correct record.

(ii)          THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 5^th January 2021 be approved, subject to the amendment above.

The DMC is asked to note the progress of the action points arising from the 1^st December 2020 meeting.

Consideration was given to the progress report.

Roger Elliott reported that repairs on Holly Lodge were being undertaken more promptly. A roof check had also been done.

RESOLVED –

THAT the progress report and the comment above be noted.

Report of the Directors of Housing Management and Property Management.

This report brings together an update on service areas performance including caretaking, repairs, CCTV and grounds maintenance. It outlines the work that has started on the Voids Improvement Programme. It includes an update on the work of the Tenant Participation Team and provides an outline of the work being done to support residents who are impacted on by Covid and need help with money issues.

The DMCs are asked to comment on and note the contents of the update report.

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

Angela Spooner, the Head of Landlord Services, introduced the report. She highlighted a number of points from the report:

·         A White Paper encouraged tenant engagement, which was something the Council did through a variety of structures. There was a Fire Safety and Compliance Advisory Panel that had been established.

·         The Council undertook a substantial amount of grounds and tree maintenance. There were over 300 parks and 28,000 trees in Camden. Playgrounds were inspected weekly and the Council had a three-year cycle of tree inspections.

·         The Council was committed to reporting back to DMCs on voids and reducing the number of ‘active voids’. There had been difficulties arranging viewing and lettings during lockdown but the Council was piloting virtual viewings and had a case management system for voids.

·         Housing officers had been working closely with Welfare Rights staff to help tenants who had fallen into rent arrears and financial difficulty, particularly due to the impact of covid and lockdown on those working in certain sectors.

·         There had been changes and improvements to the Repairs Service and the caretaking and cleaning services, which included the Council recruiting directly-employed window cleaners. Although lockdown had seen an initial decrease in repairs calls, there had been an increase in call volume in Q3 of 2020. There was a specialist support and response team which could help with particular places of concern with regard to caretaking.

·         A new CCTV system was rolling out. The CCTV service had handled more than 4000 calls from residents and 500 official requests for footage in 2020.

Attendees made a number of points in discussion and asked a number of questions.

There was a request that there be communication with the TRA when the specialist support and response team would be working on their estate.

People queried when trees were last inspected and when they would be next inspected. Officers said that there was an online map which should be able to give this information and tenants could also contact treeservice@camden.gov.uk.

June Dodds highlighted some concerns about trees on the Peckwater Estate. Others also pointed out cases where trees had been planted too close to buildings and had grown so that they were causing damage to brickwork.

Some residents praised the caretakers on their estates and said they had noticed a marked improvement in the services they received.

A request was made by Roger Elliott for dog waste bins on the Holly Lodge Estate, particularly at the Swains Lane end. There had been concern about bags of dog waste being thrown into Highgate Cemetery.

Members expressed concern that Camden was 7^th from bottom among London boroughs in terms of the number of voids they had. The distinction between active and other voids was queried. Officers said that active voids were those which could have tenants moved into them. Other voids were those which needed a significant amount of work, or which were being held  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Report of the Landlord Services Manager (South).

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 Landlord Services Manager (South).

Kieran Waller, Neighbourhood Housing Manager, introduced the report. He said that the DMC had £15,719.10 left in its budget for this financial year.

One bid had been received for consideration at this meeting, which was for redesigning the refuse storage area in Leighton Crescent and measures to improve waste and recycling storage. It was proposed that the £15,719.10 remaining be allocated to this. Members agreed this recommendation.

RESOLVED –

THAT the following bid be agreed:

Local issues were raised at Item 9 above.

Report of Landlord Services Manager (South)

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

Consideration was given to a report of the Landlord Services Manager (South).

There was a discussion about the support being given by the Council to victims of domestic violence. The Chair praised the Council for the work they had done in re-housing one woman he knew who had been the victim of domestic violence.

Members noted the figures on rent arrears provided in the report.

With regard to the item on page 55 about the communal gating system, it was clarified that the contract was to be re-let for Rochester Road estate only.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report and comments above be noted.

There were no other business.

The dates of future meetings are:

·         Tuesday, 15^th June 2021

·         Tuesday, 14^th September 2021

·         Tuesday, 30^th November 2021

·         Wednesday, 12^th January 2022 (Joint Meeting)

·         Tuesday, 8^th March 2022

The dates of future meetings will be:

·         Tuesday, 15^th June 2021

·         Tuesday, 14^th September 2021

·         Tuesday, 30^th November 2021

·         Wednesday, 12^th January 2022 (Joint Meeting)

·         Tuesday, 8^th March 2022