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MINUTES OF THE LANDLORD SERVICES WORKING GROUP
DATE: Tuesday 5th September 2017
Room 140 TIME: 10:15 am
Present:
Neil Barks (NB) NWLDC / Andrew Boast (AB)Andrew Wallace (AW) NWLDC / Brian Wills (BW)
Justin O’Brien (JO’B) NWLDC / Hilary Pym (HPY)
Laura Smythe (LS) NWLDC / Sheila Sharpe (SS)
Amy Page (AP) – Minutes NWLDC / Judith Flynn (JF)
Paul Ashmore (PA) NWLDC / Ken Farnish (KF)
Sandra Newell (SN) / Colin Statham (CS)
Pam McGowan (PM)
Sandra Houghton (SH)
Apologies:
Cllr Roger Bayliss (RB) Hilary Prime (HP)
ITEM / ACTION
1.0
1.1
1.2 / Welcome & Apologies.
NB welcomed the group and introduced Paul Ashmore, NWLDC’s Open Space and Parks Team Leader.
NB advised that Dee Ellis who had been administering the LSWG meetings was leaving the Housing Asset Management Team on 6 September 2017. Amy Page the Housing Asset Management Team’s Office will be turning to the role of supporting the Group.
2.0
2.1
2.2 / Minutes of the previous Meeting (1/08/2017)
Issues of accuracy –
Hilary Prime was not at the meeting and therefore Item 4.1 was raised by Hilary Pym.
The remainder of the minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as an accurate and true record and signed off.
3.0
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5 / Matters Arising /Actions
Item 3.1 Garden Tidy ‘include flower bed dig over’ – AW and PA are meeting after LSWG to discuss this request. AW to report back to next meeting.
Item 4.2 & 4.4 Parking Feedback (St Mary’s Avenue, The Biggin & Ibstock) - NB has added these areas for consideration. AW will send NB any other recommendations for parking schemes by Friday 8 September 2017. The Asset Management Team will prioritise areas recommended by LSWG and staff and a report brought back to LSWG in November 2017.
Item 4.3 Hood Court – NB is investigating the potential relocation of nine parking bays from the front of the building to the rear. To support this the rear entrance to the building will need to be widened and access automated.
Item 6.1 Area tour of new build and refurbishment sites – It was agreed that the area tour will take place on the 5th December 2017, utilising the time/date slot of the LSWG.
Item 7.1 Social Care – Forward Plan – KF and AW will be meeting after LSWG on this matter and Social Care will be on the agenda of a future meeting. / AW
AW/NB
NB
AW/NB
AW
4.0
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
4.9
4.10
4.11
4.12 / HRA Grounds Maintenance
PA gave an overview of the HRA Grounds Maintenance Service which consists of garden tidies, grass cutting, and hedge and shrub cutting to communal areas. He confirmed that:
· Grass cuttings are scheduled to be carried out up to fourteen times a year, approximately every fortnight. (between March and October);
· Hedge/Shrub cutting is usually carried out twice a year depending on the location;
· Shrubs, hedges and beddings are mostly maintained during the winter months;
· The frequencies are decided upon by the housing management team. The decision is based on the need and cost of each service.
Achievement of the frequency of grass cuttings indicated was disputed by members of LSWG if the group with the majority reporting that once a month was more accurate.
A discussion also took place about collecting grass cuttings. PA agreed to provide NB/AW with a quote for collecting grass cuttings for the global district and another quote specifically for areas near areas with a high number of elderly tenants and/or sheltered schemes.
KF requested for the cuttings to be collected on the first cut of the year as this is when the grass is the longest and causes the most issues.
There is no difference to the frequency or standard of service required between towns and rural areas, so long as it is HRA land. There may be a different specification for non HRA land maintenance. AW to report back on which land within the district falls within the HRA responsibility.
Grounds Maintenance will be moving over to a digital system which will allow for live updates of job completions.
The Group were asked to keep a record of any cases of grass not being cut for more than 3 weeks. This will be added periodically to the agenda for LSWG. Individual cases cannot be discussed on an ad-hoc basis during meetings.
PA explained that the team carry out grass cutting in the rain to avoid a backlog building up, but water logged areas will be left.
JF queried the lack of progress made to the front gardens of Hood Court, NB suggested that due to the planned works for Hood Curt and the surrounding area, garden works may be paused until completion of the other work. AW and PA will look into this and confirm.
SN thanked the team for the work regarding the tree and footpaths at Willn Close.
AW will look at who is responsible for maintaining the ‘jitty’ between the two schools on Melbourne Road.
PA confirmed that the spray used around the edges of pathways is the safest product on the market. / PA/AW/
NB
AW
All
AW/PA
AW
5.0
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5 / Housing Asset Management Update
NB provided an update on activities with the Asset Management Team:
Apprenticeships
Four apprentices (one electrician, one plumber and two joiners) have been appointed from a longlist of fifty applicants provided through Stephenson’s College.
Estate Refurbishments
The Thringstone estate improvement work has commenced. The first two blocks were completed on the 1st September 2017. Two blocks will be completed each fortnight, within a ten week programme. The Marlborough Flats improvement works commenced on the 29th August 2017.
DHIP
Kier and Lovell’s contracts with the Council for the Decent Home Improvements Programme come to an end on the 15th September 2017, with both contractors due to complete this year’s programme on Friday 8th September 2017. This will complete a five year programme.
Home Improvement Programme
On the 31st July a new capital replacements programme (Home Improvements) which is being carried out by the IRT workforce began. Approximately forty properties form the first batch of improvements. The first handover, a bathroom, is due on the 5th September. This is a great opportunity for the Asset Management team and is progressing well, the windows and door replacements begin on 11th September. The programme is due to be completed on the 13th October.
Staffing Updates
Megan Duggan (AMSO) and Dee Ellis (AMSO) left/leave the organisation on 1 and 6 September 2017 respectively. A temporary AMSO – Sarah coke, joins the team on 12 September 2017.
6.0
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6 / Housing Management – Tenant’s Handbook
AW asked the Group for feedback on the final iteration of the Tenant’s Handbook, a coloured and formatted version was also distributed to the Group.
The handbook has been approved by LSWG, SMT and TLCF prior to it being returned to LSWG for the final sign-off.
Comments regarding the content:
The repairs team now have a dedicated team of call handlers whereas housing management, pest control and other services’ calls are all handled through the Corporate call centre. This is why individual direct dial numbers are not listed for other services.
NB confirmed that Bev Smith, the Council’s new Chief Executive, was likely to prioritise improvements in customer services and customer focus. It was expected that customer service and performance within the Corporate Customer Contact Centre would improve as a result.
AW and NB will review what is necessary to be included in the handbook with regards to contact numbers for contractors and other more specified details.
Comments regarding the Design:
· Reduce the opacity of the red circles, it is currently too distracting.
· Change the image on the front to be the same image of keys that is used further on.
· The Group were happy with the remainder on the handbook design. / AW/NB
AW
7.0
7.1
7.2 / Forward Plan 2016-17
October 2017:
· 2017 Star Survey results
· Social Care
The group were invited to offer any further items of discussion for future meetings. These are to be sent to Laura Smythe.
8.0
8.1
8.2
8.3
8.4 / AOB
The new Housing Management patches went live on 28th August 2017. Recruitment is currently underway for an Officer to cover the ‘northern parishes’ patch which is the largest area but has the fewest properties.
Michaela Cort is now the Housing Anti-Social Behaviour Officer on a trial basis to provide a more consistent approach for managing ASB cases. The success of this will be reviewed over the coming months. The group gave positive feedback about this change.
AW confirmed that bonfires are considered as environmental issues not ASB, although cases of repeat offenders may be dual managed by the Housing Officer and Michaela.
NB confirmed that the Repairs Policy review would now be concluded in January 2018 to enable priority timescales to be re-considered in light of recent performance improvements. Currently there are four priorities (24hr, 7day, 28day and 90day) with continued improvements it may be an opportunity to reduce this to three (24hr, 3 day and 90day). This would be a significant change and would affect the repairs policy.
9.0 / Date of next meeting:
NWLDC, Council Chamber, 3rd October 2017 10:15
Meeting Closed 12:15