Information on the Housing Options Appraisal
On this page are details about what the housing options appraisal was about and the various types of consultation which took place with residents in January/February 2009.
The Council is again looking at options to bring in the investment needed to improve homes and housing services in the borough.
Ninety per cent of residents who took part in a survey in the summer of 2008 said that things can’t go on as they are, and that we must do something to find the money needed to improve Council homes and housing services and invest in local neighbourhoods.
The Council is updating the condition survey of its housing stock to get an accurate forecast of future costs. We’ve also asked an independent organisation, PPCR, to talk with tenants and leaseholders right across the borough to find out what local people want and think should happen.
The Council’s Executive Committee will consider all this information at its meeting in April. We will listen to what residents say and agree the steps needed to bring about the changes local people want. The Council can’t move forward without residents’ support and is committed to giving tenants and leaseholders the final say over any future proposed housing options.
We need to take a fresh look at how housing is provided in Kingston because, under current finance rules, the Council simply can’t afford to carry out needed repairs and improvements to homes or provide the standards of service that tenants and leaseholders have a right to expect.
At the moment, 31 pence out of every pound paid to the Council in rent goes to the Government to subsidise housing in other parts of the country. That adds up to £6.7 million going out of the borough in 2008/09. This means we can’t afford to replace outdated kitchens and bathrooms or worn-out lifts, improve stairwells and common areas in blocks of flats, offer extra security or upgrade the environment on estates. Nor do we have the resources to tackle wider community priorities, like play areas and support for education, training and employment.
The Council is having to sell some of its homes this year just to meet it basic obligations for repairs and improvements. If things stay as they are, conditions will get worse – and the Council isn’t prepared to let that happen.
Kingston residents may have received leaflets and other material from local or national groups opposed to change in council housing. To make sure that you’ve got the full facts about the choices for homes and services in Kingston, please get involved in the housing options appraisal.
You can take part in the housing options appraisal through:
- Online group – search for ‘What Kingston residents want’ on Facebook or contact PPCR to join a special online network.
- Postal surveys - all members of the Kingston Housing Sounding Board will be asked for their views via an individual postal questionnaire.
- Telephone surveys and conferences - PPCR are carrying out a telephone survey of 1,500 tenants and leaseholders. A sample of residents in each of the four neighbourhoods in the borough, will also be invited to take part in one-hour telephone conferences, taking place between 7.30pm and 8.30pm on 9, 12, 17 and 26 March.
- Neighbourhood discussion meetings
Malden and Coombe (Gilpin House, 23 and 25 March)
South of the Borough (Hook Centre, 18 and 19 March)
Surbiton (Surbiton Library, 23 and 25 March)
Kingston Town (Richard Mayo Centre, 16 and 18 March).
- Sheltered housing meetings – all residents living in sheltered housing were invited to one of 21 local meetings between 16 February and 6 March.
- Meetings with local residents’ associations – PPCR have contacted all the recognised representative groups in the borough.
At this event you were able to have your say about the future of council housing in the borough. The ‘Saturday Conversation’ ran from 10am to 3pm, to round off a programme of discussions with residents about the best way forward for the Council’s housing service.
Anyone interested in the future of affordable homes in Kingston was welcome to drop in for as long as they like, to find out what’s happening, share their views and enjoy some free refreshments.
The councillors responsible for deciding what happens to council housing in Kingston were there, along with staff and partner agencies. Guests from nearby boroughs and other types of housing providers were on hand to share their experience of what works elsewhere. There was also the chance to find out and comment on what local people have said so far and take part in a special text vote and online facebook group.
Money is a vital issue, so there was a demonstration of how the Council’s housing finance works and why the current rules mean that Kingston just can’t sustain the service or provide the improvements that are so badly needed.
Kingston’s Head of Housing, Mike England, said:
“It’s time for residents to give us their views on how we can change things to bring in the investment that residents need and want. I urge all our tenants and leaseholders to come to the Saturday Conversation on 28 March, to tell us how they would like things to see things improve.”
The feedback from the Saturday Conversation and all the face-to-face, telephone, postal and online discussions over the last three months will be reported to the Council’s Executive Committee for its decision on the future of housing on 21 April.
For more details or to air and share your views, please contact PPCR now on freephone 0800 317 066 or email kingston@ppcr.org.uk