Last year the council received a damning Housing Inspectorate report on its sheltered housing.
Now, a team from consultant Pennington is leading what the council says will be “radical” improvements throughout the housing service.
Pennington team leader Chantelle Hayes will act as interim housing change manager.
Last year’s inspectorate report gave the sheltered housing service no stars and an “unlikely to improve” rating. Inspectors found that little or no action had been taken to improve matters and the council’s best value review would not result in better services.
To make matters worse, residents had dubbed their housing “Colditz”.
In some cases, residents of four bedsits had to share a single windowless bathroom with only the most basic facilities. And rents and charges varied for no apparent reason.
The district auditor, tenants and staff had all made recommendations to improve services, but they were not acted upon, the inspectors said.
Environmental health and fire officers examined the homes following the report.
The inspectorate made a further visit to check on progress during February, but it is understood many issues remained outstanding.
A follow-up report will be published later this year.
In the meantime, the council says it has assessed the whole housing service as “having significant scope for improvement”. Community services chair Bob Southern said: “We are working with specialists with a proven track record to bring about an improved service as quickly as possible.”
The council refused to comment further.
> All parties on Hertsmere council are backing the takeover of the transfer organisation they created. The troubled Ridgehill Housing Group is selecting potential partners for a group structure in which it would retain its local independence. The Conservative-led council is pressing for representatives from all four of its political groups to be allowed to join the selection panel when the choice is narrowed to two bidders later this month.
Source
Housing Today
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