Agenda and minutes

To confirm the minutes from the previous meeting

The minutes of the Housing and Community OSC meeting on 6 September 2017 are still to be issued.

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies received from Councillor Hearn and Adeleke

To receive any declarations of interest

A member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a personal interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered -

(i)            must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent

and, if the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest, or a personal interest which is also prejudicial

(ii)           may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter (and must withdraw to the public seating area) unless they have been granted a dispensation.

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Members’ Register of Interests, or is not the subject of a pending notification, must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal and prejudicial interests are defined in Part 2 of the Code of Conduct For Members

[If a member is in any doubt as to whether they have an interest which should be declared they should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer before the start of the meeting]

There was no declaration of interest.

An opportunity for members of the public to make statements or ask questions in accordance with the rules as to public participation

There was no declaration of interest.

None.

Cllr Mahmood thanked D Barrett for coming at short notice.

E Brooks introduced D Barrett who replaced Julia Hedger. He also stated a similar item is going to Cabinet next week.

D Barrett gave an update on the recently completed scheme at Able House. This included an update on replacing a small quantity of cladding that was removed following the events of Grenfell Tower.

Cllr Armytage asked what private estates had that cladding and what action has been taken.

E Brooks said that the information that they had, there are approximately 2/3 buildings. The owners were considering taking it off if they haven’t already done so. DBC have no responsibility for private blocks.

Cllr Mahmood asked what the cost was to change the cladding system.

E Brooks said around 40/50 thousand pounds, and the money was taking from the project cost savings.

Cllr W Wyatt-Lowe asked, regarding all sites, what is being implemented for the over flow of car parking.

D Barrett said there is 1 space per flat and 2 spaces for houses. Each scheme is different and we have the minimum requirement in place so we are complying with the planning policy.

Cllr Mahmood asked if parking numbers could be added to each new build development when the report is presented next.

D Barrett gave an update on Wood House.

Cllr Imarni asked if the name was changing.

D Barrett said yes it will be called Kylna Court but it’s not been signed off yet by the postal services.

D Barrett gave an update on Swing Gate Lane which will be ready for summer next year.

Cllr Armytage said that if phase 1 is being completed next year when will phase 2 take place, and when can tenants start to occupy it.

D Barrett said that they are on schedule and all properties are to be occupied together as we don’t want residents moving around a building site.

Cllr Bassadone asked where the parking was for this development.

D Barrett showed members the plan with the parking places marked.

D Barrett gave an update on Stationers Place explaining the challenges with the underground water culvert. They are due to start works in the new year when the issue has been addressed with the Environmental Agency. 

D Barrett gave an update on Martindale School which is being considered for approval at the planning committee tomorrow night and is due to start summer next year and will take 2 years to build.

D Barrett also gave an update on Northend and Westerdale, the former garage sites.

Cllr Armytage asked if the land was contaminated.

D Barrett said the surveys are done once planning is approved, they will look more into this then.

E Brooks added to that stating that these properties will only be used for temp accommodation only. Its kind of a pilot scheme and its not for general need council tenants.

D Barrett said there are other schemes like this in the pipeline.

Cllr Griffith arrived at  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

F Williamson presented the report, giving a year on year picture for 16/17. She also highlighted a few pertinent points. Sun Realm are providing a good service that is working well, they removed the £100 incentive as the system worked well without it. Osborne’s performance since 2014 overall has been positive, there were some issues with repairs in the first quarter but they were resolved. Hard copy hand outs were circulated.

Cllr Mahmood asked who decides the bar for the customer satisfaction figure of 90%.

F Williamson said that it’s in the contract and performance has been in the upper quartile, we do have scope to review targets and two of the parameters were increased last year. We also use national guidelines in setting the %.

E Brooks said that it’s internally scrutinised and the targets are acceptable.

Cllr W Wyatt-Lowe asked how do you classify complaints, how fast is the feedback.

F Williamson said it’s done at core group meetings on a monthly basis. They rely on the back office for how quick the responses are fed back.

Cllr Imarni stated that Osborne’s can sometimes get things wrong but they are quick enough to hold their hands up and rectify it, and then put processes in place to stop it happening again.

E Brooks stated that it’s a very large contract bigger than Mitie, there will be mistakes to learn from.

Cllr Mahmood asked if the Osborne appointment covers the call centre, as mentioned in the report?

E Brooks said the call centre aspect covers all the housing repair related work.

Cllr Mahmood asked what the life span was for boiler repairs.

F Williamson said the life cycle from the Savills surveys had been 15 years but the new combi boilers; we are finding they need replacing after approximately 12 years.

Cllr Mahmood wanted to add that the use of concern cards was a positive approach, and that they were proving useful is good. 

Action:  Noted

Outcome: Report was noted.

L Walsh introduced the report explain about loft space.

Cllr W Wyatt-Lowe said he was glad that something is being done in the blocks of flats.

L Walsh said that with the loft hatches are on the top floor of flats, this approach works as we don’t want to start having to padlock them.

Cllr England added to that, communication is the key.

L Walsh said that’s right we do tell them at the tenancy sign up and we do have pre tenancy sessions so there are areas that we do target.

E Brooks added to that stating that the newer homes do have better storage.

Cllr Mahmood said that it has generated a lot of tenant scrutiny, and it begs the question, have we gone about communicating this policy to the tenant in the right manner, or could we have done it more softly?

E Brooks said the soft approach doesn’t always work as we found out from the ‘clear landing policy’, its only when you remove goods that the tenants pay attention. It’s not a nice to do, but it’s a must for health and safety.

Cllr Griffith added to that, when people are talking about it all over social media we know they are reading about it. The blunt approach does help.

Cllr England agreed with the idea, but we need to ensure social media is being monitored.

E Brooks said yes that is exactly what happens

Action:  None.

Outcome: Report was noted.

·         Email Rob Smyth and Matt Rawdon to as about a Sportspace update and Youth Connexions

·         Layla will add items to the report.

·         New build update to be added on a regular basis every 6 months before Cabinet.