Agenda item

Resolved:

That the tabled recommendations as discussed and amended be agreed and referred to Mayor and Cabinet.

That the committee writes to the relevant housing associations in the borough to invite them to discuss their approach to resident engagement in housing development.

John Bardens, Scrutiny Manager, introduced the report to the Committee. The following key points were noted during the discussion.

1.1      The Chair tabled a list of draft comments and recommendations. This will be included in the agenda documentation pack.

1.2      The committee noted that it can make recommendations to the Council and Lewisham Homes but that its influence over other housing developers in the borough is unfortunately more limited.

1.3      The committee agreed to give preference in the report and recommendations to the term “seldom heard”, rather than “hard to reach”, to be more in-line with current terminology.

1.4      The committee noted that while Lewisham Homes appear to be doing well, there is always room for improvement, and stressed the importance of being flexible. 

1.5      One committee member noted that if residents have had a bad experience with one part of the council they are less likely to engage positively with another part and queried whether general training on resident engagement for other departments could be worthwhile in order to better understand what experiences lead people to becoming “hard to reach” or “seldom heard”.

1.6      The committee expressed an interested in carrying out further work on how other housing associations in the borough carry out resident engagement.

1.7      The committee agreed to invite other key housing associations in the borough, and their local resident groups, to a future meeting to discuss their approach to resident engagement on development.

1.8      The committee noted the key role of the Housing Officer in resident engagement and the importance of housing officers having the time to build stronger relationships and understand their residents.

Resolved:

1.9      That the tabled recommendations as discussed and amended be agreed and referred to Mayor and Cabinet.

1.10    That the committee writes to the relevant housing associations in the borough to invite them to discuss their approach to resident engagement in housing development.