Liberal Democrat Councillors, Bill Thorkildsen and Dean Ranyard have recently held a meeting with representatives from the housing association, Places for People after concerns had been raised on a number of issues by local residents.
Cllr Thorkildsen said: “I’d like to thank Ian Hunter and John Findlay of Places for People for agreeing to the meeting where I was able to put concerns raised to them. As a result an estate inspection was arranged to look at the conditions of fencing and open spaces in particular. The company have given strong assurances that they are taking all issues raised in regards to damp and mould seriously and are actively working hard to address these problems in properties where they have been identified.”
Cllr Ranyard added: “Delays to repairs have been largely as a result of backlogs owing to the Covid pandemic, but the repairs team has recently been strengthened in terms of staff numbers and reports of non-urgent repairs are now expected to be attended to within 28 days. Many tenants have raised concerns over the windows in their properties. Places for People say repairs will be made where there is damage, but brand new windows for the housing stock in the area is not up for consideration until 2025.”
Ian Hunter, Area Manager, at Places for People commented, “Creating and supporting thriving communities is at our core. In the past year we’ve increased our communication with our customers to understand what matters most to them. As a business, we are working to improve our repairs and maintenance experience across the country through the improvement of our enquiry process and scheduling, contractor management, and allocation of resources. We also recently announced the launch of our new strategic framework, with £104m investment. This includes the appointment of dedicated contractors for our regions allowing us to deliver works at scale including upgrades that help customers with challenges like energy prices.
“We know that by fostering strong partnerships we can make positive change to communities and we welcome site visits from our local elected representatives. We have taken on board the concerns raised by our customers and by Councillors Thorkildsen and Ranyard and will be working closely with them and Livin Housing Ltd to address the issues of concern quickly and efficiently.”
Cllr Thorkildsen has also been in contact with housing association Livin to bring issues to their attention. He said: “Whilst we don’t have direct influence over these organisations, we will always do what we can to represent residents and raise issues on their behalf. Places for People have identified issues from the estate inspection that they are taking away and looking at providing solutions.”
Issues around crime and anti-social behaviour were also brought up in conversation with local residents and Cllr Thorkildsen will be taking these matters up with the local policing team.
Spennymoor's local community newspaper.
