Simon Gagen, Director of Property Services gave an overview of the latest developments in relation to repairs and maintenance. He reported that the focus is on providing a positive service and good communication with residents. Estate residents have indicated that a visible presence is a priority; therefore surveyors now patrol the estates. An improved surveyor’s offer is also being made to leaseholders. It was reported that some repairs can be resolved relatively quickly while others will take longer.  A Customer satisfaction survey conducted by an independent company found that it is on an upward trajectory.  Customer Satisfaction is currently at 85% and was 81% last year. The target for satisfaction is 90%. Member enquiries are also decreasing they were 98 last year and 369 in previous years.

Lesley Smith, Assistant Director of Neighbourhood Services reported that they are working to support engagement. A number of themed groups have been established to increase the levels of involvement and give residents the opportunity to provide feedback on service improvement. These cover; neighbourhoods, community safety, anti-social behaviour, CCTV and tenancy fraud. The resident scrutiny panel was shortlisted for the TPAS award. There was also a successful mobile job club which toured Merton.

Paul Quinn Director of Merton Regeneration reported that there has been a positive response to regeneration plans. Consultation with residents will begin this week and a planning application will be submitted in May 2016.  

A panel member asked CHMP to outline their three main areas of concern. The Director of Property Services said his main concern is to build upon the current improvement and to build the confidence of residents. The Director of Merton Regeneration reported that budgets are tight in the current climate, it will also be important to keep momentum to ensure the project moves to the house building stage. The Assistant Director of Neighbourhood Services outlined concerns around meeting the needs of customers, it can time to resolve issues and support people to address behaviours.

A panel member highlighted the importance of councillors being involved in the naming of new streets and housing blocks and the need to consider the wider infrastructure. The Director of Merton Regeneration responded that they will take a lead from the council in naming new streets and building.

A panel member sought clarification on the types of tenures of the new properties including numbers of affordable housing and social housing. Also will tenancies be re-let as temporary or permanent accommodation. The Director of Merton Regeneration reported that the regeneration project consisted of new homes and re-housing existing tenants. There are a mixture of leaseholders and tenants as well as houses obtained under early buy backs in which case assured short hold tenancies were used.

A panel member expressed concern that they cannot add any value to the performance data provided. It would be useful to look at issues that require improvement. The panel could usefully consider feedback from the tenancy scrutiny panel. The Director of Property Services added that the panel may also find it useful to consider long standing issues that take additional time to resolve because of their complexity. The panel agreed that these should be included in a future agenda item.

A panel member noted that there had been significant improvements in repairs and considered if this could be attributed to recent mild weather conditions or improvements at CHMP. The panel member said they had submitted two repairs requests over the last two days and it was difficult to believe that CHMP had only received 98 over the last year. There seemed to be a consistent pattern of issues including problems with old boilers. Also Sadler Close has reported issues with mice and cockroaches.

The Director of Property Services reported that there has been additional investment to replace boilers and there is a concerted programme in place to improve repairs, it is also part of the decent homes standard. They are tackling structural issues at Sadler Close such as replacing windows which should deal with those issues. Improvements to communication, installing new kitchens and bathrooms have all been attributed to improved repair ratings, however the Director emphasised that they cannot afford to be complacent.

A panel member asked what assurance can be given about fraud and overcharging based on the Saville review. The Director of Merton Regeneration said they will use the quantity surveyors to scrutinise the process.  

A panel member asked if Circle Housing is merging with Affinity Sutton. The Director of Merton Regeneration said that this has been agreed in principle but the process is still on-going.

RESOLVED

Next six monthly update from Circle Housing and Merton Priory to include feedback from the tenants’ scrutiny panel and case studies on resolution of long standing issues.