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.

RESOLVED –

THAT the ‘A’ and ‘B’ lists be noted.

Apologies for absence were received from Janice Smart (Lymington Road TRA) and Nevenka Martin (Taplow TRA).

There were no announcements.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no notifications of urgent business.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Hampstead DMC held on 11 July 2024.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 11^th July 2024.

The representative from 15 Belsize Avenue said that her Vice-Chair had attended but had been left off the attendance list.

The Burnham TRA representative said that, with regard to Item 12 (Community Safety), he wanted it recorded that:

“It was not possible to get staff out at the time of the anti-social behaviour. Residents felt that there was no point to the service if staff only came out in response to calls days or weeks later”.

DMC representatives were still awaiting all the ways to report Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) at all times of the day, after repeated requests following the special ASB meeting held in April.

                                                   ACTION: Community Safety Team

The representative from 50 Fitzjohn’s TRA wanted to clarify that capital works were not taking place on the estate at the moment, but that it was a retrofit assessment.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 11^th July 2024 be agreed, subject to the amendments above.

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

REPORT TO FOLLOW

The action point update in the supplementary agenda pack was noted.

To consider an update from the Cabinet Member for Better Homes.

Consideration was given to a report of the Cabinet Member for Better Homes.

Councillor Sagal Abdi-Wali introduced herself as the new Cabinet Member for Better Homes. She highlighted that there was a lot of learning from the Council from the Grenfell inquiry. She also said that the Council was lobbying the new government on the need for more resources for social housing.

A resident expressed concern about foreign investors buying up property in Hampstead and said the government needed to tackle the favourable tax treatment of this sector.

The representative from Webheath highlighted that the paving that a recent DMC bid had paid for was of poor quality. It had been installed in May but already had cracks in it. She added that there were street lights in the area which had been out of action for months. 

A resident noted in the report that the Council faced high costs from legal disrepair cases brought against them. He said he had received a letter from solicitors suggesting he could have a claim.

The Cabinet Member noted that there were some legal firms whose business model included bringing disrepair cases against local authorities. She said the aim was for matters not to reach this stage, and for problems to be resolved before the tenant reached the stage of bringing a claim against the Council.

A question was asked about the housing transformation plan. Councillor Abdi-Wali said that the aim was to change the way staff worked so that they were not ‘in silos’ and could do more ‘joined-up’ working.

A representative from Sidney Boyd Court raised concerns about damp and mould. Residents also said that future damp and mould problems were created when the Council installed windows with no ventilation slots.

The representative from Abbey Green TRA raised concerns about ASB and the difficulty of reporting it and getting a prompt response from the Council. He highlighted that a storeroom he was aware of had been broken into 5 times. He said the then Head of Security had assured him that CCTV would be installed in the lifts but this had not been done. He added that the Council needed a policy for what to do when both lifts in the block broke down.

The representative from Burnham TRA said he was opposed to the Council’s choice of windows for his block as they did not have restrictors or catches and so could be opened wide, which would be dangerous.

During the course of the discussion, residents from several TRAs (Alexandra & Ainsworth, Abbey Green and Burnham) asked for a councillor visit to see conditions on their estates.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report and comments above be noted.

Report of the Tenant Participation Co-Ordinator.

This reportprovides an update on the review of the process for bidding, management and monitoring of the DMC budget proposed for adoption.

Consideration was given to a report of the Tenant Participation Co-Ordinator.

Stanton La Foucade spoke to the report. He explained that it was an update to the item at the last DMC round concerning the bids process. A process map and timescale was provided in the report. The process would be managed by Tenant Participation who could support TRAs through the process.

The Chair welcomed the proposal of more support and commented that it was important that the new process be tested out and then, when members had seen it in action, they would be able to make a judgment about it. Other members welcomed the proposals.

Members said they would like the bids process to give them a chance to use local contractors rather than the large Council contractors.

It was mentioned that the Special Projects grant had not been increased for years. It was suggested that it be increased to £1000. The view was also expressed that the size of this grant to TRAs should vary depending on the number of properties on their estate. Attendees pointed out that the DMC budget did increase with inflation but the Special Projects grant did not.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report and the comments above be noted.

Report of the Tenant Participation Co-Ordinator.

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/district-management-committees.

Consideration was given to the report of the Tenant Participation Co-Ordinator.

Toyin Majiyagbe spoke to the Taplow bid, which was £9000 to repaint the walls and install new flooring in the Taplow TRA hall. She explained that this would not only improve it for residents, but make it more appealing to let out to external users which was a stream of income for the TRA.

Members agreed the bid.

RESOLVED –

THAT the following bid be approved:

To consider an update on lifts.

REPORT TO FOLLOW

To consider an update on voids.

REPORT TO FOLLOW

There were no written reports for Items 11 and 12. The Chair said that it was not acceptable for the Council not to produce written reports or to provide officers who could speak to the issues.

The Chair proposed that there be a special meeting where they could consider a report on lifts and also consider bids. She said she was of the view there was not as much interest in the DMC in the voids paper and so there was not as much demand from the DMC to consider that. She disagreed with the proposal from some officers that there be a joint DMC meeting to consider the papers, as she felt this would not give Hampstead DMC representatives the time to ask local questions of officers.

Thomas Broad, the Consultation and Engagement Manager, was present to talk about the Council’s general approach to capital works.

He said that residents should be told in advance of capital works, with the Council writing to them first, and then contractors. Contractors’ staff should wear ID and be considerate when they were liaising with residents and entering residents’ homes.

Attendees said that this theoretical good practice was not being followed. The Chair cited examples of where contractors had turned up without notice, and pointed out that residents would refuse access if they were not expecting them as they could be bogus callers.  

The representative from 50 Fitzjohn’s TRA said that there had been an attempted break-in in his block and said it may have happened following unannounced visits by people claiming to be working for the Council or its contractors. 

He said he had tried to contact Waites regarding fire alarms, but he had not heard back from them.

Representatives from Alexandra & Ainsworth TRA said they had experienced a lack of communication from contractors. Councillor Simon added that appointments were made and not kept. This was inconvenient for residents who may have had to take time off work and make special arrangements in order to stay at home for a contactor visit.

A Vice-Chair, Arun Kumar, commented that there was no clear process for reporting contractors who were not doing what they were supposed to do.

The Chair said that residents were the Council’s “eyes and ears on the ground” when it came to monitoring contractors, and so it should listen to them.

The representative from Burham TRA highlighted a bad experience his TRA had had with Francomes. An email had been sent to the TRA inviting them to meet with Francomes when they were due to visit on 8^th August, but they were not given a time or place to meet.

A Vice-Chair, Annie Ward, said that her experience of Francomes had been good.

RESOLVED –

THAT the comments above be noted.

Report of the Health and Safety Manager, Property Services.

This report outlines Camden Council’s arrangements for effective management of asbestos within its property portfolio. It also notes the responsibilities of tenants when carrying out the minor alterations to their homes.

This information report was noted.

Report of the Head of Capital Works.

This report sets out how information on planned works is shared with appropriate staff, tenants and residents.  The report also outline the responsibility of contractors/sub-contractors for identification when attending an appointment and how this process was being monitored by the Council.

This information report was noted.

Information on this session scheduled for 2 September 2024.

This information report was noted.

Report of the Strategic Lead, Supporting Communities.

This briefing provides an update on the working group made up of officers and residents representatives nominated by DMCs planning delivery of the Resident Action Day event on Saturday 28^th September 2024.

This information report was noted.

To note an information sheet on fire safety.

This information report was noted.

To note key performance indicators (KPIs).

A query was raised as to why the collection rate for leaseholders for the 4^th quarter, as detailed on page 72, was in excess of 100%.

ACTION: Strategic Lead, Supporting Communities

To consider any local issues raised by DMC representatives.

A resident from Hilgrove raised concerns about the caretaking on the estate being uneven and inconsistent.

A resident from Alexandra & Ainsworth raised concerns that the new heating system could generate more damp and mould. He said he had raised this with officers but not had a response.

The high charges quoted by some Council contractors were raised. Another resident from Alexandra & Ainsworth said that £46,000 had been quoted for re-painting the railings.

Alexandra & Ainsworth reps said that the building known as the Hive on their estate should be re-classified as a community facility. At the moment, it seemed to be leased to a firm that was going to use it as a nursery but it had not been opened.

The representative from 50 Fitzjohn’s TRA highlighted that unauthorised people had been entering the communal areas associated with the estate. This included dog walkers who were letting their dogs foul the area.

A Vice-Chair, Anne Ward, voiced her concern at the lack of named housing officers to contact. She also felt there was a lack of cover during the summer holiday period. The Neighbourhood Manager present said that there had been some sickness in the team.

The representative of Sidney Boyd Court reported that Lift 2 had not gone to the top two floors for months. Residents were being told by Council staff that it had been repaired when it had not been. She also highlighted continued issues with the gates.

A representative also voiced concern about the lack of contact regarding CCTV installation. A resident from Abbey Green TRA said that there was no usable communal space in the estate as Repairs had failed to provide electricity for the TA room.

There was no other business.

Dates of future Hampstead DMC meetings will be:

·       Thursday, 5^th December 2024

·       Wednesday, 8^th January 2025 (Joint DMC meeting)

·       Thursday, 13^th March 2025

Future Hampstead DMC meetings will be on:

·       Thursday, 5^th December 2024

·       Wednesday, 8^th January 2025 (Joint DMC meeting)

·       Thursday, 13^th March 2025