Area Housing Panels

 

 

Area Panels have been operational since October 2002. There is one for each of the five areas of the borough – Dudley, Stourbridge, Halesowen, North Dudley, and Brierley Hill. They consist of 5 Councillors nominated by the respective political parties in proportion to the political make up of the area and 5 tenants elected in accordance with each Area Panel’s constitution.

 

The panels objectives are to act as a focus for local service delivery and to enable local councillors and tenants to influence decision making. Meetings are held in public, and tenants are encouraged to attend as observers. All meetings are advertised in advance in the local press, housing offices, and here on our web pages.

 

Are you interested in helping us to shape our housing service and how your estates are run?  If so, we could have the answer.   We are looking for committed people from our estates who want to become involved in our Area Panels.  Meetings are held regularly and all issues of our services are discussed.

 

 

We understand the importance of involving customers in the development and running of our service and that is why we set up the Area Panels Initiative.  If you are a Dudley MBC tenant and are interested in joining the panel, why not contact the Participation Development Team on 01384 815168 to express your interest, as we are currently recruiting new members in all areas.

 

 

Area Housing Panels have played a crucial role in developing a brand new Anti-Social Behaviour policy which states how we will tackle and resolve antisocial behaviour on our estates.  Customer advice leaflets are now available at all Housing Offices.

 

Over the last 12 months or more the Council has been reviewing the ways in which we can improve our Housing Management service. Area Housing Panels have continually been consulted both on the findings of our current local patch based service, and have been asked to comment on how we intend to improve the service.

 

Plans are now in place to introduce a number of measures which will ensure that Housing Managers will be able to manage effectively their local “patch” and have responsibility for all housing related matters on their estate.

 

Performance information is continually presented to the panels who play an active role in monitoring progress.  They look at areas, which include rent arrears, turnaround of empty properties, anti-social behaviour and repairs.

 

Area Housing Panels continually monitor and contribute to the repairs and improvement programme which looks at  what money will be spent over the next 3 years on different types of repairs and improvements to properties we manage.  

 

Panels have recently been given a final opportunity to comment on the proposed changes to our conditions of tenancy.

 

Each year Area Housing Panels are asked consider bids for Community Safety funding to undertake works that will improve the safety of estates, such as the installation of security fencing, on a particularly crime effected area.

 

The bids usually come from a mixture of Tenants and Residents Asssociations, Housing Managers and concerned tenants, and are discussed and agreed at the Panels.

 

For more information or if you have anything you would like to raise about Area Housing Panels in general, you can contact your Area Managers: