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 Tenants Participation Team together with a membership list and a completed registered form.

It was noted that there had been some issues with the postal distribution of the printed agenda.  DMC members that had not received the agenda were asked to let the clerk have their contact details.

RESOLVED –

THAT the ‘A’ and ‘B’ lists be noted.

Apologies for absence were received from Arun Kumar, Ray Choi, Pamela Holmes-Gunsell, Nevenka Martin, Casy Okezie, Ade Osinuga, Mary Ryan Kinga Salgado, Lynda Stuart  and Jeremy Yankey.  

No announcements were made.

No declarations were made.

There was no urgent business.

Report of the Director of Finance

This report summarises the financial position of the Housing Revenue Account and the draft recommendations on rent and service charges to be made to the Cabinet in January 2025.

The report also seeks the views of the DMCs on the draft recommendations

The DMCs will retire to the following rooms to discuss the budget proposals separately:

Gospel Oak            - Council Chamber

Hampstead             - Committee Room 1

Camden Town        - Committee Room 2

Kentish Town          - Committee Room 5

Holborn                   - Committee Room 4

At 8.15pm the DMCs will be recalled to report the outcomes from their respective meetings if they wish.

Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Finance that summarised the financial position of the Housing Revenue Account and the draft recommendations on rent and service charges to be considered by the  Cabinet in January 2025. This included a joint briefing for all the District Management Committees (DMCs). 

Each DMC then met separately and their views were sought on the report and the draft recommendations. The following points were raised and discussed during Hampstead DMC’s consideration of the report:

·       There were concerns about the selling off of Council properties. That  that the best Council properties would be sold, leading to a year on year reduction in the best homes, resulting in fewer tenants and an increase in the number of leaseholders.  Were these proposals a short cut to selling off Council estates? 

·       What was the tipping point in terms of the number of leaseholders deciding or being able to pursue a Right to Manage? Would this make the position of Council tenants vulnerable? 

·       In a time of national council housing shortages, why is Camden selling off Council properties and how does this sit alongside the government’s policy to provide and build new homes?

·       The Chair reminded the DMC that they had been consulted about the sale of the most structurally unsound properties as a possible option for some time and that the Council had now reached the time of making that difficult decision. 

·       The proposals to sell properties should have been clearer about the type of properties to be sold, that they were costly to repair and structurally unsound.

·       Concern was expressed by some DMC members about the continued reliance on gas central heating, with no green future proofing or alternative heating proposals. There were options for solar panels on listed properties and these should be considered. Other DMC members spoke about the solar panels that had been installed at 5-7 Belsize Grove and that it would have been helpful for the DMCs to hear about the retrofit and green fuel proposals taking place across  the borough.

·       Dealing with void properties should be more effective given the shortage of Council properties. Some people were desperate for flats while others appeared to be rejecting flats for trivial reasons. 

·       The Council should reconsider whether it should be getting rid of larger properties, because new build properties were small and not suitable for larger families.

The following comments were made in response to the points raised by members of the DMC:

·       The decision to consider selling Council properties had not been an easy one. The houses that would be sold were properties that were the most expensive/costly for the Council to repair, given the current financial position that the Council, like many others, was facing. The proposals to sell them would produce capital without having to borrow money. 

·       The properties proposed for sale were freehold street properties. There were already large estates with a mixture of tenures.  It was not the Councils intention to sell off Council estates.

·       It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

There was no urgent business.