Members to receive a presentation from Clarion
Minutes:
Councillor Mason welcomed Sally Greetham, Daniel Read and Yvonne Ogden from Clarion Housing and thanked them for their attendance at today’s meeting.
Colleagues from Clarion provided a presentation to Members, outlining the various key projects and their work programme over the past year and looking forward.
Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows:
1. Councillor Skoulding asked Daniel Read whether he was aware of the unfinished road in Lake Close in March, which commenced 6 years ago and made the point that following a previous Overview and Scrutiny meeting, assurances had been given that Anglian Water had approved the work and Cambridgeshire Highways would then be in a position to look at the road, with the works to be completed by Summer 2019, but to date have not yet started. Councillor Skoulding stated that he is aware that there has been damage caused to cars and there have also been instances of children becoming injured. He added that letters have been sent to residents advising them that the delay is due to the Highway Authority and he would ask that a follow up letter is sent to all the residents giving them an update of when the works will commence. Daniel Read stated that he is happy for a response to be circulated following the meeting.
2. Councillor Connor questioned why Clarion does not seem able to respond to issues such as neighbour disputes in a timely manner, referring to an issue which was only resolved when the Environmental Health Team and Dan Horn intervened. Councillor Connor requested that elected members be provided with a direct contact number and dedicated person to be able to report issues and concerns to. Sally Greetham stated that it is always disappointing to hear when customers have received poor levels of service, the operating model that Clarion uses has slightly changed and there is now a central contact centre where issues are reported to, which should mean that the lower level anti-social behaviour cases should be passed to the local teams for quicker intervention. She added that there is also a dedicated email address for member enquiries. Councillor Connor agreed to contact Sally Greetham outside of the meeting.
3. Councillor Miscandlon expressed the view that whilst he is pleased to hear that Clarion have an online service, consideration needs to be given to those customers who do not have access to a computer, or good IT literacy. Sally Greetham agreed with Councillor Miscandlon’s comments and said that customers do still have the option to contact them by phone.
4. Councillor Miscandlon referred to a customer complaint last year, concerning an area of overgrown vegetation and fallen detritus, with the customer trying on numerous occasions to contact Clarion and being advised that the contractor had been to the location and cleared the area. Councillor Miscandlon asked whether follow up inspections are carried out to verify whether works have been carried out following a complaint? Sally Greetham advised that inspections are carried out in communal areas, both internal and external, and the time between these inspections span between weekly and six weekly dependent on their location. She added that the inspections are carried out by their Community Wardens, whose role is to ascertain whether there are any health and safety issues and also to check that the contractor is undertaking work to a satisfactory standard.
5. Councillor Wicks asked for clarification with regard to the Military Covenant Scheme and whether an individual is vetted by the Council before their details are passed to Clarion or whether the person needs to be genuinely homeless before an application can be made? Sally Greetham confirmed that anybody can apply to be added to the housing register and added that their band may change as their situation changes. Dan Horn agreed to circulate the specific references in local policy that Fenland has with regard to the armed forces and affordable housing.
6. Councillor Wicks asked what the timescales are for bringing long term void properties back into use? Sally Greetham stated that there are different categories of property once they become void, some require little work to make them habitable again and some may require further works. She added that it is the interest of Clarion to get properties re-let as quickly as possible.
7. Councillor Wicks asked for confirmation regarding procedures associated with any work required for the maintenance of communal trees. Sally Greetham advised Councillor Wicks that Clarion have a dedicated arboreal contractor who checks the trees in communal areas regularly and they are also checked as part of the grounds maintenance contract.
8. Councillor Booth referred to last year’s update from Clarion, where he made the point that not all Clarion tenant’s properties are serviced by gas, as many of the properties are situated in a more rural location and are reliant on oil fired heating or air sourced heating systems, and that he requested an update at that time, but this has not been received to date. Councillor Booth stated that over previous years, there have been residents who have not been able to get their heating systems repaired as their heating systems are more specialised and he asked for further information to be provided to members as it is an area of concern. Sally Greetham stated that the servicing of the specialist heating systems sits with different contractors and have different compliance requirements as opposed to those properties with gas heating and she agreed to provide members with further information.
9. Councillor Booth stated that he has been made aware that when residents have contacted Clarion to report maintenance issues, they have been advised that it is the householders responsibility to repair certain items themselves and added that the residents have challenged the response after checking their tenancy agreements. He stated that he is concerned that as a registered social housing provider, Clarion are trying to pass the onus back to the resident to address certain aspects of maintenance and questioned whether it is because Fenland has different contracts compared to other areas. Sally Greetham stated that there is not anything unique to the Fenland area and added that the contractors are the same as elsewhere. Councillor Booth stated that the issue appears to be arising when the householder first registers an issue with the Clarion contact centre, and the issue is only addressed once it is followed up in writing.
10. Councillor Booth asked for clarity with regard to the status of large established trees within a tenant’s garden who has been advised it is their responsibility to maintain it. Sally Greetham stated that it can be a grey area, as the tenancy agreements state that residents are responsible for their garden, which would usually include trees. However, there could be certain circumstances where Clarion would look to carry out works dependent on the nature of the enquiry.
11. Councillor Booth asked for an update with regard to the information which was provided last year with regard to the provision of 422 houses proposed to be delivered over a 5 year period. Daniel Read stated that he will look into this further and provide the information to members through Dan Horn.
12. Councillor Humphrey asked for an update with regard to the situation at Roman Court in Leverington and asked for clarity with regard to what the plans are for the site? Sally Greetham stated that it will not be sold for private sale and be replaced with affordable housing, but it is likely not to include sheltered accommodation as there is a reduced demand for this type of accommodation. She added that the initial plan was for a set of 1, 2 and 3 bedroomed affordable housing, but final details are yet to be determined. Councillor Humphrey expressed the view that the response appears to be vague, as the site is being vacated without Clarion having any firm plans for it. Sally Greetham stated that a situation arose where tenants were asking for an explanation with regard to their home going forward and, therefore, the decision was taken to offer the tenants the home loss payment far quicker than would normally be the case. Councillor Humphrey asked what the situation will be for the two residents who are still living at Roman Court. Sally Greetham stated that a final decision will have to be made and discussions will take place with the residents to discuss the next steps.
13. Councillor Yeulett asked how Clarion deal with accommodation requests for larger families? Sally Greetham stated that they do hold larger units for bigger families and whenever there is a vacancy then the housing register is checked. She added that on rare occasions properties can be adapted to make them suitable for larger families and stressed that there is not a large amount of bigger properties, so it can be a challenge.
14. Councillor Cornwell asked whether the play area in Russell Avenue, which has been taken out of use, can be reinstated? Sally Greetham agreed to look into this further.
(Councillor Skoulding and Councillor Humphrey left the meeting following this item).