Tenants meetings

JH4_1462         gsjohn

Tenants meetings

Tenants meetings are held when required at the Church of the Good Shepherd, in Lyttleton Street (see picture of the Church above)

Older residents may recall that the Association held regular open meetings for all tenants to attend both midweek evenings and Saturdays with the Chair, the General Manager, the Office Manager and the Housing Officer representing the Association. However as attendances dwindled the Board decided that these meetings were no longer a good use of resources. so we now arrange Tenant Meetings when particular issues arise or on request. We can then draft in other service providers such as the Police or Councillors so that issues can be referred to the correct enforcing body.

Forthcoming meetings:

All tenant meetings are notified through our Tenants Newsletter – Lyngline but remember you can call into the office to see your Housing Officer any morning Monday – Friday 10am – 1pm or afternoons by appointment.

 

 

FEEDBACK FROM LAST TENANTS MEETING

Wednesday 8 April 2015 at 6pm The Church Hall on Lyttleton St/Moor St

Representatives came from Frank Fisher Way, Charity Bick Way, Lyng Lane and Newhall St.

  1. The issue of the lack of litter bins in the park was discussed. It was clarified that the park was owned and managed by Barratts the building company developing the rest of the estate. The Association had offered to pay for bins to be installed but that offer had been declined. The concern had been over which organisation would empty the bins as the Council wouldn’t take responsibility for this service. The Association had employed a site supervisor to visit the park and clear litter on a regular basis to try and keep the park reasonably clear of litter. The Association does have a longer term plan to take over management of the park in the future subject to reaching agreement with the Council and should this be the case the Association will look to install litter bins.
  2. The issue of children from the wider surrounding areas coming to the park and intimidating the local children was raised by one parent. The police were aware of this and had agree to patrol the area more frequently but the point was made that such patrols tended to be targeted on areas with reported repeat problems therefore it was important that parents made the police aware each time a problem occurred. The local PSO was very pro-active in responding to issues and had been made fully aware of the concerns by the Association.
  3. Two residents wanted to know if the Association would help support the establishment of a youth club for older children if the two residents undertook the training to become accredited youth workers. The Association would be happy to support this initiative but would need to consider the best way to assist any new venture of this type. It was agreed that the two residents would liaise with the Association’s Community Development Officer who may be able to assist with identifying low cost or free training.
  4. One resident raised the issue of parking on Newhall St which had become more difficult since resident only bays had been introduced a few weeks previously. Residents on the new side of Newhall St who had for the past 2 years been able to park outside their front door on the main road were now unable to do so because of the restricted parking zones which residents were not allowed to use.           It was explained that Sandwell Council would not allow any resident to obtain a permit for a resident permit zone if they had an allocated off road space. The explanation for this was that the Council had adopted a policy of only one parking space per household across the whole area so would always refuse requests for permits for a second vehicle to park – even if the resident parking zones were not being used as is the case at Newhall St. Some residents had been raising a petition to try and persuade the Council to relax their policy on the basis that there was space on Newhall St for cars to park but the Association understood that the Council wasn’t prepared to make an exception.                                                                                                                                                                                                         One resident indicated that they would be raising this lack of flexibility with their local Councilor and news was awaited on their response.
  5. A resident complained that their flat was very well insulated and warm but found it stuffy. It was recommended that they check their window vents to ensure they were open and providing trickle ventilation to the flat. Using the heating controls to reduce the temperature would help as once the property became warm the high level of insulation tended to keep it warm for a considerable time afterwards.
  6. One resident at Frank Fisher Way asked for a new doorbell to be fitted and this was arranged for the next day.
  7. One resident asked about recharges and whether all out of hours repairs calls were recharged to residents. It was explained that only emergency repairs were actioned outside working hours and there wouldn’t be recharged unless the tenant had in some way been responsible for the problem – for example putting used nappies down the toilet and causing a complete blockage of the main drain.       For the overwhelmingly majority of cases the problems weren’t caused directly by the tenant so no recharges were raised.It was agreed that the Association would put an explanation in the next issue of Lyng Line – the tenants newsletter.
  8. A resident of Newhall St asked for the Maintenance Officer to visit to check on the extract fan and solar panels and explain how they worked. This was arranged for the following day.

 

FEEDBACK FROM TENANTS MEETING – SATURDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2014 at 10.30am The Church Hall on Lyttleton St/Moor St

Report – Coffee/Tea and cakes were provided and the tenants that attended had the chance to meet the staff and Lyng Board members to tell what they thought about the new service.

With residents from Turks Head Way, Lyttleton St, Frank Fisher Way and Charity Bick Way present there was a good cross section of views.

The feedback to the Association was:-

1. The new maintenance arrangements were working well with particular praise for Andy the Lyng Maintenance Officer and Bournvillle Property Care staff who were looking after electrical and gas repairs.

2. The external painting contractor who worked on the external decoration of Phases 1 and 2 (the homes built in 2004 and 2006) on Charity Bick Way, The Sidings, Turks Head Way, Old Flour Mills and Southwell Walk had done a very good job and tenants were delighted with the way they had completed the work.

3. The summer trips to Weston Super Mare and to Gloucester Christmas Market were greatly enjoyed and a few suggestions were put forward for future trips in 2015.

4. A request was made that the noticeboards in the flats at Charity Bick Way and The Sidings be used for displaying posters from the Police covering surgeries and general crime prevention – this was agreed and posters are now on display.

5. Concern was expressed about litter on the estate and the lack of litter bins – it was explained that at present neither the Council nor Barratts (who still own the park area and the unadopted roads) were keen to install new bins as they would create  a need for a contractor to maintain and empty them. However the Association would approach the Council regarding the request to see if any bins could be installed if the Lyng Site Supervisor was prepared to empty them.

6. Concern was expressed about dogs fouling – it was agreed that an item about controlling dogs would appear in Lyngline (the estate newsletter) and if the dogs were owned by tenants then the Lyng Housing Officer would address the problem.

7. Concern was expressed about the condition of some front gardens which were overgrown – again where these are Lyng properties the matter would be addressed by the Lyng Housing Officer.

Next meeting – the next meeting was scheduled for January 2015 – date and venue to be confirmed- a flyer would be sent out to all Lyng Community Association tenants in January.

 FINALLY

Don’t forget our annual Children’s Christmas Party – held in the Church Hall Lyttleton St.

Fun Days at Lyng

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