Sheffield Homes Area Board North West Area

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REPORT FOR DECISION

AGENDA ITEM

PAPER

SUBJECT

SUMMARY:

These are the Part A minutes from the North West Area Board meeting held on Tuesday 3 April 2012.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS:

That the Area Board adopts the minutes as a true and accurate record of the North West Area Board meeting.

PAPERS:

Minutes attached

Sheffield Homes Area Board – North West Area

CouncillorDiane Leek

Gina McLennan

Staff

Mark Cowley, Area Manager

Richard Hawson, Investment Manager

Margaret Goodall, Governance Team

Guests

David Dean - Kier

Phil Oades - Kier

Lily McCall – Board Director

Usamah Rahmani – Board Director

Action

Apologies

Apologies were received fromCouncillor Jack Clarkson and Mark Cowley (Area Manager)

Declarations of Interest

There were no Declarations of Interest

34.1Agenda Item 1 Verbal

Public Question and Answer Session

There were no members of the public present at the meeting.

34.2Agenda Item 2Paper A

Minutes of North West Area Board meeting Part A held 7 February 2012 and Matters Arising

With the following amendments the minutes were accepted as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

(33.2) (31.9.1) – Lighting and Stairwells – The supplying and fitting of lights should read “relating to the Dover, Morpeth and Boneville Gardens” and not relates to the gardens.

33.4 – The news release on Future of Council Housing should read “ The Area Board were disappointed that the press release had not been issued to tenants prior to the ballot”

33.6 – The Area Board requested that reference to Local Housing Forum throughout the minutes be replaced with Tenant Representative Meetings since at the time of the February Board meeting the ‘group’ was not a Forum.

Matters Arising

Oxford Street has been surveyed and meets the Decent Homes standard on heating.

33.8 –The Council have agreed to grant WinnGardensa lease for them to extend their TARA meeting room, subject to external funding being secured. Sheffield City Council and Sheffield Homes officers are to meet with the TARA on 18th April.

33.9 – Alternate meetings will be held monthly with Local Housing Forums and Area Representatives.

A handout was given relating to the following:-

• Heat Metering Pilot – The contract is currently being finalised If successful it will be rolled out City Wide.
• Lighting – The Area Board agreed to proceed with external lighting and stairwells costing £27,000 at the Gardens.
• Tower Blocks at Stannington – following the successful replacement of lighting on the CliffeTower block a sum of 38,000 is to be allocated to the two remaining blocks at Stannington and funded from North West Environmental budget.

34.3Agenda Item3Paper B

Area Investment Progress Report

The Area Board received a paper from the Environment and Property Services Manager and the Kier representative providing information on progress of Decent Homes programme including Environmental programme and a Kier update.

In discussion the following issues were raised:-

1. A customer workshop at Kier was well attended.
2. Kier has launched a “Get Ready” project to provide opportunities to people having experienced homelessness to engage in the world of work.
3. The Area Board were asked to spread the message for tenants to be in when an appointment has been made to minimise the number of missed appointments.
4. The Area Board requested a breakdown or sample of missed appointments.Kier
5. Satisfaction surveys that are slightly below target are being monitored.
6. Kier have been asked for a more concise breakdown of the area, and include charts of dwellings not communal area’s.
7. Communal repairs are being looked at to include in the report.
8. A major piece of work on profiling is being conducted.
9. There are nine properties outstanding and at legal proceedings on Gas Servicing.
10. Three lighting schemes at Netherthorpe have been awarded to Kier and will commence in late June.

The Kier representatives left the meeting at 18.50 pm

The Board resolved to note the report.

34.4Agenda Item4Verbal

Chair’s Report

The Chair reported on the following.

The Vice Chair attended the Chairs meeting in the absence of the Chair where the following was discussed.

1. Future of Council Housing - Thanks were expressed recognising the good work so far and the key message to continue with a positive approach using every opportunity to shape the future.
2. Going Local – A meeting with officers to discuss lessons learnt will take place shortly. The Area Board were encouraged to pass on comments from the last twelve months. It is likely that a report will be brought to the June meeting.

34.5Agenda Item5Verbal

Area Manager’s Report

The Area Board received an update from the Assistant Area Manager.

In discussion the following issues were raised;-

1. A meeting was held with highways to discuss including Sheffield Homes car park areas in the proposed Upperthorpe & Netherthorpe car parking scheme (where residents will need a permit for parking in future).Agreement was reached that they should be included Any objections should be raised as detailed on the leaflets which Highways will be sending out to all tenants and residents in the area.
2. A pilot is to be held at Stannington on a new initiative between Sheffield Homes the Council and SheffieldUniversity on digital inclusion. This is in the early stages and the Area Board will be brought any updates.
3. There are currently two vacancies on North West Board for a Tenant and Independent. Interviews for these positions will be held in late April.

The Area Board resolved to note the report.

34.6Agenda Item 6 Paper C

Performance / Area Profiling Report

The Area Board received a paper from the Assistant AreaManager detailingtrends in Housing Management activity for the North West Area.

In discussion the following issues were raised;-

1. A handout was distributed relating to rent accounts which have district heating charges included and which are in rent arrears.The data showedlittle difference in rent arrears with or without disctrict heating charges.
2. The Area Board agreed to support a workshop (possibly July) to look at performance/data profile in more detail. All agreed they prefer the mapping formatas opposed to bar charts and figures..

The Area Board resolved to note the report.

34.7Agenda Item 7 PaperD

Community Engagement / Tenant Participation Activity

The Area Board received a paper from the Assistant Area Manager providing details on Community Engagement high- lighting key points on performance, TARA compliance, community activities and budgets.

In discussion the following issues were raised:-

1. CCTV work on Oxford, Wentworth and Martin blocks is scheduled for completion by end May.
2. Following the allocation of £9500 to Hillsborough Boxing Club for larger premises, not now seen as feasible the Area Board agreed they may use the money to purchase equipment and improve existing premises.
3. Thanks were given for the handrail at Stoney Walk.. Clarification was given on the wall mounted boiler at Burlington meeting room.
4. It was pointed out that the handrail at Stannington has not been fitted as stated in the report. A site visit is to be made with Stannington TARA to progress.
5. The allocation for 12/13 Going Local budget is unknown.

The Area Board resolved to note the report

34.8Agenda Item 8Paper E

Debt Support Unit and Money Management Worker Project Update

The Area Board received a report from the Assistant AreaManager on the Debt Support Unit and Money Management Worker jointly funded by the Area Board and Sheltered Board.

In discussion the following issues were raised:-

1. Examples of how cases had benefited from the Debt Support Unit were reported to the Board.
2. The Board requested reasons why the number of referrals ‘allowed’ was only fifteen in North West Area which seems low compared to other areas. Ast Manager

34.9Agenda Item 9 Verbal

Responses from the Last Board of Directors’ Meeting to Matters Referred from the last round of Area Board meetings

The Area Board noted the content of the report.

34.10Agenda Item 10 Verbal

Future Agenda Items

The Area Board requested as an extra item to the Investment report details of the future plans for heating systems. Investment

34.11Agenda Item 11 Verbal

Matters to Refer to the Board of Directors

There were no matters to refer to the Board of Directors

Date, Time and Venue of Next Meeting

The next meeting of North West Area Board will be held one week later due to the Bank Holiday the previous week on Tuesday 12 June 2012 at St Bartholomew’s Church, Primrose Hill, starting at 6.00 pm.