4. Neighbourhood and Community Standard

4.1 Neighbourhood management

Cleaning

Connaught was awarded the cleaning contract for our communal areas in April 2009.

All communal areas were included on weekly schedule for cleaning. A six monthly deep clean schedule was also produce to ensure that thorough cleaning also takes place. In addition to our cleaning contract we have two Housing Response Officers who are responsible for turning the bins where the accommodation has chute rooms and ensuring that any blocked chutes are cleared as soon as possible. They also attend each of the Tower blocks daily to sweep and mop the foyer and lifts. These officers work 365 days a year to carry out these duties. Housing Response officers also inspect the cleaning carried out and report any areas that may need extra attention.

Housing Response Team

This team carry out block and estate risk assessments to ensure that any potential risks on our estates are identified and dealt with as quickly as possible. Housing response officers (HRO’s) also carry out small repairs to the communal areas in our buildings such as changing communal light bulbs or removing graffiti and report any larger problems to our repairs contractor.

We have 6 high-rise tower blocks and the response officers carry out two inspections on each block daily to ensure cleanliness and safety standards are monitored and dealt with promptly. Housing Response officers assist Housing Officers with visits and attend emergencies.

They work closely with Waste and Recycling to ensure the removal of bulk items from our estates. Housing Response Officers will also carry out minor repairs to tenants homes if it identified that a tenant requires assistance.

They also work closely with Grounds maintenance reporting any areas of concern. Currently we have two junior HRO’s who were provided with the assistance of the Future Jobs Fund and assist with litter picking or cutting back hedges etc.

During 2009/10 HRO’s

• removed 116 items of graffiti
• changed 1406 communal light bulbs 
• removed 1541 items of rubbish
• removed 38 needles from our estates.

Estate Walkabouts

Estate walkabouts are carried out quarterly. Notices are displayed around the estates inviting residents to attend the walkabouts with staff. Other agencies such as Local Councillors, Police and other Housing Associations are invited to attend. Building surveyors also attend to identify any building defects that may need attention. Mears our repair contractor attends in their mobile repair surgery for tenants to report or discuss repair issues.  They also provide a handyman service on the day of the walkabout. Any issues identified are recorded and the Housing Officer notifies the appropriate department or agency responsible for resolving the issue.

The walkabouts are also used to speak to residents and identify any areas for future improvement projects. During 2009/10 there were

• 22 walkabouts were carried out
• 60 residents participated in the walkabouts
• 84 visits to the surgery vehicle
• 85 repairs were reported to the surgery vehicle
• 151 communal repairs were picked up on the walkabouts.

Housing Surgery

Housing officer holds a regular housing surgery to enable residents of Ramsgate area to raise any concerns relating to their tenancy or neighbourhood. 

What you have told us

What you have told us about neighbourhood management:

Status Survey 2009

• 66% satisfied with their neighbourhood

4.2 Local area co-operation

We work closely with partners to ensure tenancy management including:

• We attend Partners and Communities Together (PACT) panels in council estates to ensure that multi agency approach is adopted to tackling problems.
• Carrying out joint visits with agencies such as the Police to tenants in respect of any issues of Anti Social Behaviour enabling them to be addressed from every angle.
• Carrying out joint visits with support agencies such as Social Services and Supporting People to ensure that residents are receiving the support that they require.
• We participate in "Cleansweep" - Corporate Initiative to tackle problem areas. Agencies involved, include, housing, environmental health police, fire service, immigration, benefits etc.
• We make referrals to the Community payback team to benefit local residents.
• Current projects we are jointly involved with other social housing providers on are the Newington Redevelopment with Town and Country and the Whitehall Rec Project with Orbit and Hyde Housing.
• We utilise agencies such as Pipeline to target litter and rubbish clearance on our estates and in return they engage young people and identify and facilitate activities for them.
• Staff have received training in other areas such as Child Protection, Domestic Abuse and Mental Health. This has assisted them to recognise issues and enabled them to make early and accurate referrals to appropriate agencies.

Community Wardens

Community Wardens act as the 'eyes and ears' of the council. They deal with low level nuisance and being a visible presence on estates. They work closely with the Housing Officers to address environmental and low level community safety problems in the neighbourhoods they work in.

4.3 Anti- Social Behaviour

Any action that is or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as the perpetrator". (Crime and Disorder Act 1998- section 1)

From the point of view of our Housing Services, ASB is conduct which:

• Is capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to any person; and
• Directly or indirectly relates to or affects our housing management function; or
• Consists of, or involves using or threatening to use housing accommodation owned or managed by us • for an unlawful purpose. (adapted from section 218A(8) of the Housing Act 1996 inserted by the Anti-Social behaviour Act 2003).

We use a full range of tools to combat anti-social behaviour (ASB) as set out in the Respect Agenda - including:

• Acceptable behaviour agreements (ABA)
• Mediation
• Injunctions
• Noise abatement notices
• Demoted tenancies
• Possession action
• Crack house closures
• Parenting contracts

We have close working relationships with the local Police neighbourhood teams, Community Safety Partnership and involvement in programs to monitor prolific offenders.

We have used government funding to form an ASB champion group, led by residents to produce a DVD about the impact of ASB on residents.

Introduced a process map through our computer systems to improve consistency in the way we deal with ASB reports whilst treating each case sympathetically and on its own merits.

We have introduced an ASB policy, which tenants helped us to review.

We have introduced CCTV cameras into problem areas resulting in tenancy action.

We are committed to reporting any successful cases of action against tenants that are evicted for ASB as demonstrated in our "Lob it or Lose it" campaign which was advertised after tenants were evicted from high rise tower blocks for throwing items from the balconies windows.

During 2009/10

• 9 ABA’S were signed
• 3 Injunctions were granted
• 2 Evictions on secure tenancies
• 2 Evictions on Introductory tenancies.

What you have told us

We regularly ask you how satisfied you are with various parts of the service. This is what you have told us about anti-social behaviour:

Status Survey 2009

• 20% of tenants who responded reported incidents of ASB of those 50% found getting hold of the right person easy, 57% found staff helpful and 35% felt staff had been able to deal with their problem.

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