Item 6 - Draft Minutes Housing and Communities Committee 03 05 23
West Dunbartonshire Council · 23 August 2023
Back to Housing & Communities Committee — 23 August 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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HOUSING AND COMMUNITIES COMMITTEE At a Hybrid Meeting of the Housing and Communities Committee held in the Civic Space, 16 Church Street, Dumbarton on Wednesday, 3 May 2023 at 10.00 a.m. Present: Councillors Ian Dickson, Gurpreet Singh Johal, David McBride, Jonathan McColl, James McElhill, Michelle McGinty, Lauren Oxley, Martin Rooney, Hazel Sorrell and Sophie Traynor. Attending: Peter Hessett, Chief Executive; Peter Barry, Chief Officer – Housing and Employability; Angela Wilson, Chief Officer – Supply, Distribution and Property; John Kerr, Housing Development and Homelessness Manager; Nigel Ettles, Legal Officer and Nicola Moorcroft and Lynn Straker, Committee Officers. Also Attending: Chief Superintendent Lynn Ratcliff and Chief Inspector Ryan McMurdo, Police Scotland; Area Commander Joe McKay and Station Commander Anthony Mallon, Argyll and Bute, East and West Dunbartonshire, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. Apologies: Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Councillors John Millar and Lawrence O’Neill, Councillor Gurpreet Singh Johal in the Chair STATEMENT BY CHAIR – AUDIO STREAMING Councillor Singh Johal, Chair, advised that the meeting was being audio streamed and broadcast live to the internet and would be available for playback. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST It was noted that there were no declarations of interest in any of the items of business on the agenda. RECORDING OF VOTES The Committee agreed that all votes taken during the meeting would be done by roll call vote to ensure an accurate record. ITEM 6
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OPEN FORUM The Committee noted that no open forum questions had been submitted by members of the public. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The Minutes of the Meeting of the Housing and Communities Committee held on 22 February 2023 were submitted and approved as a correct record. SCRUTINY REPORTS (A) POLICE SCRUTINY REPORT A report was submitted by the Divisional Commander, Police Scotland providing Members with an update. After discussion and having heard Chief Superintendent Ratcliff and Chief Inspector McMurdo, in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed to note the update provided. (B) FIRE AND RESCUE SCRUTINY REPORT A report was submitted by the Local Senior Officer, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service providing appropriate performance data measured against priorities in the West Dunbartonshire Local Fire and Rescue Plan. After discussion and having heard Area Commander McKay and Station Commander Mallon in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed to note the update provided. HOUSING AND EMPLOYABILITY DELIVERY PLAN 2022/23 YEAR-END PROGRESS AND HOUSING AND EMPLOYABILITY DELIVERY PLAN 2023/24 A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability, setting out the year-end progress of the 2022/23 Delivery Plan and presenting the new Delivery Plan for 2023/24. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability and the Housing Development and Homelessness Manager, in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed to note the progress achieved at year-end for the 2022/23 Delivery Plan and the new Delivery Plan for 2023/24.
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SUPPLY, DISTRIBUTION AND PROPERTY DELIVERY PLAN 2022/23 (HOUSING ASSET AND INVESTMENT AND BUILDING SERVICES) YEAR-END PROGRESS AND SUPPLY, DISTRIBUTION AND PROPERTY (HOUSING ASSET AND INVESTMENT AND BUILDING SERVICES) DELIVERY PLAN 2023/24 A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Supply, Distribution and Property setting out the Housing Asset and Investment and Building Services priorities of the Supply, Distribution and Property (SD&P) year-end progress for 2022/23 and presenting the new Delivery Plan for 2023/24. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Supply, Distribution and Property in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed to note the progress achieved for the 2022/23 Delivery Plan 2022/23 at year- end and the Delivery Plan for 2023/24. HOUSING REVENUE ACCOUNT CAPITAL PROGRAMME UPDATE – BETTER HOMES WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability providing an update on the development of a revised Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme following the decision taken by West Dunbartonshire Council to agree a weekly rent increase of 5% in 2023/24. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed: (1) to note the content of the report and the progress made to date in the delivery of the Council’s ambitions around housing investment; (2) to approve the undertaking to conduct all necessary procurement exercises for the delivery of the identified work streams within Section 4 of the report; (3) to note the establishment of a Tenant/Officer Short Life Task and Finish Group to deliver some of the key objectives outlined within the report; and (4) to note that a further progress report would be provided to the next meeting of the Housing and Communities Committee. HOUSING REPAIRS – ADDRESSING DAMPNESS AND MOULD IN COUNCIL HOUSES A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Supply, Distribution and Property and Chief Officer – Housing and Employability providing an overview of the services’ approach to the management and future prevention of dampness and mould in council houses.
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After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Supply, Distribution and Property and Chief Officer – Housing and Employability, in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) to note the contents of the report and the progress to date; and (2) to approve the recommendations outlined in paragraphs 4.3.2 to 4.3.6 of the report. MORE HOMES WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE – WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL AFFORDABLE HOUSING SUPPLY DELIVERY PROGRAMME A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability providing an update on progress with West Dunbartonshire’s More Homes Programme, which oversees the delivery of the Council’s new home building programme. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability and the Housing Development and Homelessness Manager, in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) to note the content of the report and the progress made to date in the delivery of the Council’s More Homes West Dunbartonshire approach; (2) to approve the undertaking to conduct all necessary procurement exercises for the new identified sites within the Future New Build – West Dunbartonshire Affordable Housing Supply Programme, identified in section 4.4 of the report, to deliver new council homes; (3) to approve the acquisition of the former Clydebank Health Centre site, at a cost of £584,500, from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, for the delivery of new Council homes; (4) to note the addition of Gilmour Avenue, Hardgate, to the More Homes West Dunbartonshire development programme; (5) to note the scaling up of the Council’s buyback programme and the actions required to meet this ambition; (6) to note the reduction in housing units within the Pappert development from 27 to 26 and to note that this will maintain 112 bed spaces within the development; and (7) to note the success of the Council’s Queens Quay housing development which had been shortlisted for the Homes for Scotland Awards, Development of the Year (Large).
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WILLOX PARK SHELTERED HOUSING COMPLEX A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability providing an update on the action being taken to understand the damp and mould problems experienced by the tenants at Willox Park, Dumbarton and the delivery of a wider masterplan approach to the future provision of sheltered housing within the location. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability, in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) to note the content of the report and the progress made to date in carrying out initial surveys and approve spend for future surveys and required works at Willox Park sheltered housing complex; and (2) to note that a report would be provided to the November 2023 meeting of the Housing and Communities Committee, following consultation with the tenants on future housing provision within the location. ENHANCED STANDARDS FOR MULTI-STOREY LIVING – A STRATEGY FOR ENHANCING THE EXPERIENCE OF LIVING IN A MULTI-STOREY HOME IN WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE 2023/28 A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability providing an update on the recent resident consultation, which gathered ideas on how to enhance the Council’s 19 multi-storey homes and seeking approval to implement a strategy to enhance living standards in these homes by delivering a number of improvement actions. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability and the Housing Development and Homelessness Manager, in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) to note the contents of the report and the feedback received from current and future tenants, regarding their experiences of living in our multi-storey homes across the local authority area; (2) to approve the strategic approach, outlined with the Strategy document and improvement action plan, developed to address the findings of the consultative exercise; and (3) to instruct the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability to fully implement the strategy and associated action plan.
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TENANT SATISFACTION SURVEY A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability providing the results of a comprehensive Tenant Satisfaction Survey on the Housing and Homelessness Services carried out and the results of which will be reported to the Scottish Housing Regulator as part of our 2022/23 Scottish Social Housing Charter requirements. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability, in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) to note the contents of the report, recognising the Tenant Satisfaction levels across all areas of housing and homelessness services since the introduction of the Scottish Social Housing Charter; (2) to approve the improvement action plan developed to address the drivers of dissatisfaction raised by tenants and instruct the Chief Officer – Housing and Employability and the Chief Officer – Supply, Distribution and Property to fully implement the action plan; (3) to note that the satisfaction data would be reported to the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) as part of our Annual Return on the Charter (ARC); and (4) to agree that the information and improvement plan contained in the report would be shared with the West Dunbartonshire Tenant Scrutiny Panel and WDTRO (West Dunbartonshire Tenants and Residents Organisations) and be distributed more widely to tenants and housing and homelessness staff. The meeting closed at 12.15 p.m.