HAVEBURY HOUSING PARTNERSHIP TENANTS FORUM Held on Tuesday, 10 October 2017

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1 Constitution: Sandra Norris (Chair) HAVEBURY HOUSING PARTNERSHIP TENANTS FORUM Held on Tuesday, 10 October 2017 Kevin Jefferson (Vice Chair) Lucy Adams Mary Lawrence Pat Partington Steve Carter Jane Long Sandra Payne Tricia Donovan Ann Mills Jackie Rudd Sue Haydock Bryan Mills Don Seago Haley Jefferson Lee Northcut Joan Wright Invited: Kevin Lawrence Ground Control Marc Wilkinson Ground Control Craig Lockwood Aaron Services Mark Silburn Aaron Services Peter Thurlow Seagers Rob Butcher Asset Investment Manager Mark Jepson Neighbourhood Services Manager Kevin James Lead Ranger John Feveyear Neighbourhood Communities Co-ordinator Mary Ramsay Operations PA (Minutes) MINUTES 1. Apologies and Declarations of Interest 1.1 Apologies were received from Steve Carter. Lucy Adams, Sue Haydock and Mary Lawrence were absent. Action There were no Declarations of Interest. 2. Minutes from previous meeting September Matters arising as MA Note There had been no feedback on Havebury Tenants & Families Facebook (HT&FF) on the free scrap service. Jackie Rudd will phone the scrap service and ask if there had been any uptake. JR 2.2 The minutes were approved by the Forum and signed by the Chair. 3. Aarons 3.1 Craig Lockwood and Mark Silburn presented the report. 71 installs in total carried out to end of August Corgi external audit had taken place during this period and found zero immediately dangerous (ID) and at risk (AR) installations Performance levels at 100% compared to national benchmark of 92% 3.2 CL reported that some engineers had moved across with the Flagship contract in July and the Havebury dedicated install team had lost members. Aarons were building that team back up and there was now just one vacancy to fill. Despite the difficulties, installations had remained on target. Page 1 of 5

2 3.3 Records and documentation scored 84% compared with national benchmark average of 77%. Six Landlords Gas Safety Records (LGSR) were considered less than satisfactory by the auditor, this has been addressed with the engineers. 3.4 Forum expressed satisfaction with Aarons performance. 4. Seagers 4.1 Graham Cloke ran through the report. 163 kitchens and bathrooms were completed 35 overbath showers were installed 55 disabled adaptations were completed. 4.2 Forum noted the 80 refusals for refurbishment work. Rob Butcher reported that all refusals had been followed up with tenants and he explained the refusal policy again. Tenants can refuse refurbishment work, the property is inspected and provided the kitchen/bathroom meets Decent Homes Standard, then it is Havebury policy to accept the refusal. If the property does not meet Decent Homes Standard then Havebury will insist on carrying out the work. Vulnerable, sick and elderly tenants can be assisted by Havebury and their circumstances taken into account. 4.3 RB confirmed that overall Seagers were ahead of the original target of 300 refurbishments per year. Forum expressed satisfaction with performance. 5. Ground Control 5.1 Marc Wilkinson, Regional Operations Manager, introduced himself and thanked the Forum for the opportunity to meet them all. 5.2 MW summarised the actions taken since he had taken over as Regional Contract Manager in August He had immediately held contract meetings with John Feveyear and Mark Jepson to identify areas which were not working and what needed to be put right. He advised that he has an honest and transparent approach to contract management. 5.3 One field team which had had continually poor performance was let go from the contract and was replaced with two smaller teams to increase resilience and continuity. 5.4 MW has completely remodelled the contract, and increased site visits from 18 to 24 per year. Specific tasks have been set based seasonally according to the contract and specification. He has listed all jobs for each site in detail for the field teams to carry out. 5.5 MW advised that these contract changes will go live on 16 October 2017 and he is confident that the Forum and all residents will see changes and he is ready to be judged by results. 5.6 Forum welcomed the changes and looked forward to improvements Page 2 of 5

3 particularly in areas where they had often reported poor performance: Cleansing. Rubbish is frequently ignored. MW will make it clear to field teams what standard of work is expected Garage areas. Crowland Road garages were referenced for weeding/cleansing. MW stated this would improve, it had been in the area of the field team which had been let go. Pruning. MW stated pruning will be carried out according to species. Lack of equipment eg lawn mower. MW advised that the field teams should be fully equipped and are supported in this by Ground Control who will make stock equipment available to field teams if needed in an emergency. New equipment can be supplied by Ground Control and can be paid for on favourable terms over 36 weeks Training and qualifications. MW confirmed that all operatives are qualified and are offered additional training courses with recognised industry qualifications. Ensure villages are not overlooked. MW confirmed changes would happen across the contract and not just estates. 5.7 MW confirmed that an apprenticeship has been requisitioned and he is working with John Feveyear on a job description. This will be a recognised apprenticeship over 2 years with NPTC City & Guilds qualifications. KJ requested that he is sent a copy of the advertisement when ready to put on the HT&FF page, JF will forward this on. 5.8 Fly tipping was discussed, the majority are on Clements and Birdland in Haverhill and amounted to 3,054 in total for August/September. Chair stated she would put this on the HT&TF page. JR asked if total costs of fly tips could be ascertained and publicised to make people aware that everyone pays for this through rent and council tax. JF to investigate with St Edmundsbury Borough Council. 5.9 Two new Japanese Knotweed sites are being treated in Mildenhall and Flempton. JF was asked to forward a photo of Japanese Knotweed to KJ for publication on HT&FF. JF/KJ SN JF JF 5.10 Forum confirmed they were happy with the new style Ground Control report which gives figures and commentary. It was confirmed that Ground Control will send a report to every meeting and attend alternate meetings. Their next attendance will be in January Neighbourhood Rangers - role and responsibilities 6.1 Kevin James, Lead Ranger, gave a presentation on the Ranger role. There are four Rangers who each cover specific areas where Havebury owns properties, dealing with estate, tenancy and neighbourhood issues from abandoned vehicles to attending residents meetings. Their many duties include carrying out Fire Risk Assessments and Health & Safety audits in all communal areas. Page 3 of 5

4 7. Neighbourhoods update on grounds maintenance 7.1 John Feveyear confirmed that the format for reporting had been agreed after discussion with Matthew Dick following the last Forum meeting. There were three documents: Extract from September Ground Control log Rangers Grounds Maintenance Report Fly Tip Monitoring Report 7.2 The September Ground Control log extract identified grounds maintenance issues which have been reported by residents, tenants and Rangers and are followed up with Ground Control. The log is reviewed fortnightly with Ground Control and where work has not been done, Havebury can serve formal rectification notices which give Ground Control 2 days to complete the work. This is an effective operational method of monitoring the contract. Forum requested that the log include completed work for future reports. JF advised this would be possible but the report would be slightly out of date, for example in this case would show August work rather than September. Forum confirmed this was acceptable as it would give the information they were interested in. 7.3 The Rangers report was reviewed and well received by the Forum, each Ranger had summarised grounds maintenance in their area for September. A standard format will continue to be worked on. Chair requested that Neighbourhoods inform her and Kevin Jefferson of items such as fly tips and vehicles to report on HT&FF. John Feveyear reported there is a huge fly tip on Priors and he will send a photo to Kevin Jefferson for HT&FF. KJ stated he will make fly tips a monthly issue on the HT&FF page with costings. JF/KJ KJ 7.4 Finally, the Fly Tip Monitoring Sheet was reviewed, this was a new record and will be completed as from next month. Forum feedback was that the sheet was excellent. 7.5 Forum confirmed that they were happy with the format and style of all three Neighbourhood monthly reports with the amendments to the Ground Control log. It was confirmed that a member of the Neighbourhood team will attend Forum meetings in future to present the reports. 8. Fire Safety Management Acton Plan 8.1 Rob Butcher advised that following the Grenfell fire, along with all housing organisations, Havebury was reviewing its fire safety in its blocks of flats. The Fire Safety Management Action Plan had been drawn up as additional assurance to the Board and 20 actions identified. 8.2 Mark Jepson referred to Action 2: Review and update fire safety advice provided to tenants in general needs flats, and he provided copies of the leaflet which would be distributed to tenants in flats. One side of the Page 4 of 5

5 leaflet was: What can you do to reduce the risk of fire? and on the other was: What to do in the event of a fire. MJ advised that the leaflet was designed to prompt tenants to think about fire safety and to discuss with their families what they would do in the event of a fire and the decisions they would make. The Forum gave feedback that they liked the format and content of the Fire Safety leaflet. 8.3 RB confirmed that flats are normally built to contain fire. Havebury is strict with Fire Risk Assessments and enforcement that ensures communal areas and stairwells are kept clear. He further advised that some sheltered schemes are heated via a central plant room or boiler room, and it is hot water and not gas which is piped around the building. This system is also common to large tower blocks. 8.4 RB drew attention to the fact that each action has been given a target date for completion. A major action is Fire Assessment surveys being undertaken and a minimum of 10% of the individual flats will be checked internally in each block or scheme, to be completed by The team will be speaking to tenants about fire safety and checking for overloaded sockets and missing internal doors etc. 8.5 Fire consultants will be appointed to carry out more complex fire safety assessments of flats and other housing stock, such as sheltered schemes. 8.6 Forum expressed satisfaction with the assurance provided by the Fire Safety Management Action plan. 9. There was no time for any other business. Page 5 of 5