Tenant Participation
We in Housing Services welcome and value council tenant and
leaseholder involvement. You are provided with a range of ways to
have a say about the management of your homes and communities. From
becoming an elected tenant representative, setting and monitoring
standards of the services provided; to responding to occasional
phone, postal, or email surveys.
By maximising the opportunity for you to
influence housing policy, Housing Services can ensure that the
service provided best meets the needs of the majority of its
residents, and at the same time is sympathetic to the particular
requirements of minority groups.
You have the right to have a say about
the way your homes and communities are managed. Tenant
Participation helps to achieve this.
To find out how you can become involved with
one of the existing
groups or even start a local group of your own, you can
email Philippa Dale or
telephone 01233 330365.
View our Tenant
Participation Strategy.
Consulting You
We consult all tenants about changes that
affect them directly. This would include improvement programmes and
any major changes in the way we manage the housing service. We will
also ask you what you think of the services we provide in a variety
of ways including surveys, focus groups, and roadshows. For
more information contact Philippa Dale (Tenant
Participation Officer) 01233 330365 philippa.dale@ashford.gov.uk
Ashford Borough Tenants Forum
The Ashford Borough Tenants Forum is a group
of 14 tenants and leaseholders who are elected for three
years, and whose role is to meet with Housing staff and Councillors
to agree housing strategies and policies.
Forum members receive training and
support and have a meeting room where they meet for informal
discussions, and to access their emails etc.
All tenants, licensees, and leaseholders
living in Ashford Borough Council owned houses, flats, maisonettes,
bungalows, sheltered accommodation, and leased properties, are
eligible to stand for election for a place on the Ashford Borough
Tenants Forum. This can include family members living with
the tenant licensee or leaseholder. However, all candidates
must be over the age of 18.
You do not need any special skills or
experience to stand for nomination, just a little time and a desire
to talk to us about the way you would like your village, road,
estate or community to be managed, and how you might influence the
way your landlord works for the benefit of the borough as a whole
as well as your particular area. Ashford Borough Council will pay
your travelling and childcare costs whilst you are engaged on
Ashford Borough Tenants Forum business.
Nominating yourself is really easy. Just
download, complete and return the 'get involved'
nomination form, telling us, in 100 words or less, why
you want to be a member of the Ashford Borough Tenants Forum.
Do you want to see better facilities for young people?
Does the thought of improving your neighbourhood really
appeal to you? Whatever the reason and whatever your views,
we want to hear from you.
Current tenant monitoring groups
Repairs Monitoring Group
This is a group of tenants who meet regularly
with the repairs and maintenance contractors and staff to discuss
performance and standards. It has terms of reference, and feeds
into the Ashford Borough Tenants Forum. For meeting details
contact Philippa Dale (Tenant Participation Officer) 01233
330365 philippa.dale@ashford.gov.uk
Seniors Forum
This is a group of residents improving the 12
sheltered schemes in the Borough who meet to discuss a range of
issues relating to housing for older people For meeting details
contact Philippa Dale (Tenant Participation Officer) 01233
330365 philippa.dale@ashford.gov.uk
Ashford Borough Tenants
Forum and Monitoring Group Meeting Schedule
| Forum / Group |
Date |
Time |
Venue |
| Ashford Borough Tenants Forum |
Monday 6 February 2012 |
18:00-20:30 |
Committee Room One Civic Centre |
| Seniors Forum |
Tuesday 28 February 2012 |
14:00-16:00 |
Farrow Court |
| Repairs Monitoring Group |
Thursday 1 March 2012 |
14:30 - 16:00 |
Committee Room Two Civic Centre |
19 September
2011 Ashford Borough Tenants Forum annual general
meeting minutes.
27 September
2011 Seniors Forum meeting minutes.
7 November 2011 Ashford Borough Tenants
Forum meeting minutes.
1 December
2011 Repairs Monitoring Group meeting
minutes.
5 December
2011 Ashford Borough Tenants Forum meeting
minutes.
8
December 2011 Seniors Forum meeting
minutes.
9 January
2012 Ashford Borough Tenants Forum meeting minutes
Estate Inspection Programme
Estate Inspections are carried out throughout
the borough on a weekly rolling programme. Urban areas receive two
visits and rural areas one visit per year and this is in addition
to the day to day estate work being done by the Area Managers.
Estate inspections normally take between 2 and
4 hours depending on the size of the area and the issues
identified.
Things picked up on estate inspections
include:-
- rubbish and cleanliness,
- abandoned cars and parking,
- landscaping, and
- communal areas in flats.
You are actively encouraged to attend the
estate inspection where you live, either for the whole inspection
or for the bit around your home. The inspections normally take
place on the Monday of the week in which they are advertised.
Details of starting times and venues can be checked by phoning
01233 330688. Once you have attended your first estate inspection,
you will be automatically contacted when the next one is due.
Estate Inspection Timetable
| Week commencing |
Area being inspected |
Area Manager |
| 6 February 2012 |
South Willesborough |
Anthony Crossley 01233 330464 |
| 13 February 2012 |
Hampden |
Danny Regan 01233 330372 |
| 20 February 2012 |
Kingsnorth, Shadoxhurst, and Great Chart |
Sam Diggins 01233 330374 |
| 27 February 2012 |
Hillbrow and Clockhouse |
Ollie Samways 01233 330375 |
| 5 March 2012 |
Bybrook and Bockhanger |
Paul Hills 01233 330373 |
| 12 March 2012 |
Hothfield |
Claire Wood 01233 330379 |
| 19 March 2012 |
Tenants Choice or revisits* |
Anthony Crossley 01233 330464 |
| 26 March 2012 |
Woolreeds |
Danny Regan 01233 330372 |
* Tenants choice means you can request your
area receive an extra inspection, or the Area Manager revisits an
area which has not been scored highly when inspected
previously.
The estate inspection programme is advertised
in both the Housing News and the tenants calendar.
We feedback on estate inspections through the
web site in 'Outcomes and Impacts' and and in the Housing News
Surgeries
These are held in Children’s Centres and
community centres around the borough and enable you to see Area
Managers when you are dropping off or picking up your children. The
programme of surgeries is advertised in the Housing News.
Kent Police are also represented at some of the surgeries.
Mystery Shopping
All Ashford Borough tenants and leaseholders
can ‘mystery shop’ the Housing Service you receive from us. If you
would like to do this, simply completing the Ashford Back Chat
registration by following the link below to become a mystery
shopper and you will be sent a batch of mystery shopping forms and
prepaid envelopes. Alternatively you can download a mystery shopping
form here.
Then whenever you have a reason to contact the
Housing Department, you complete one of the forms telling us how
you feel you were dealt with, and whether your problem was
resolved, and return it in the prepaid envelope.
We record the results and provide feedback
through the web site and Housing News.
Ashford Back Chat
We want to make it easier for more people to tell Ashford
Borough Council Housing Services what they think, and to get
involved in the management of their homes and neighbourhoods. Find
out more about Ashford Back Chat.
Tenant Participation Outcomes and Impacts
We want you to see the range of activities tenants and
leaseholders are involved in, and hope this will persuade you to
think about taking part in some of them.
Tenant
Participation Outcomes and Impacts April 2010 - June
2010 to download this document
Tenant
Participation Outcomes and Impacts July 2010 - September
2010 to download this document
Tenant Participation
Outcomes and Impacts October 2010 - December 2010 to
download this document
Tenant
Participation Outcomes and Impacts January 2011 - March
2011 to download this document
Tenant
Participation Outcomes and Impacts April 2011 - June
2011 to download this document
Tenant
Participation Outcomes and Impacts July 2011 - September
2011 to download this document
Tenant
Participation Outcomes and Impacts October 2011 - December
2011 to download this document
This webpage was updated on
2/3/2012