Agenda item

Changes to personnel in Private Sector Housing

Minutes:

Simon Lane, the Environmental Health and Licensing Manager, attended the meeting to introduce himself as the new service manager responsible for private sector housing amongst other things. He explained that the lead officer role for private sector housing will be filled shortly. Their role is to regulate and ensure mobile home licences are complied with and to deal with any complaints or problems that arise.

 

The first point of contact would be Alice Hasted, Environmental Health Practitioner, with any issues to be escalated if necessary.  Matters would be looked at on a case by case basis.

 

A member of the Private Sector Housing team would be pleased to try and attend Residents Association meetings where possible. It would be helpful to forward any issues to be discussed in advance.  Invites should be sent to Alice Hasted.

 

Trading Standards

 

Janet Quinn from Trading Standards introduced herself to the meeting and advised that she would be covering Denise Dearden’s post whilst on maternity leave.  Trading Standards is a large service covering Devon, Somerset and Torbay.

 

General advice was given to never employ doorstep traders or someone who is cold calling and not engage in any work they are offering.  Leaflets were made available for representatives.  Most cold callers are breaking the law as it is an unsolicited visit, paperwork is not provided, and there are no cooling off rights, so this is already an offence before any work commences.

 

Trading Standards work closely with the police in relation to scam victims, having had a number of successful prosecutions.

 

General Issues

 

Reference was made to lighting on a site which had been out of action for a number of years and had not yet been repaired.

 

It was reported that Western Power had a large backlog of works. Preparatory works would need to take place as there is a need to update electrics to the entirety of the site.  This was likely to commence from December and would be carried out in phases as some digging up of the road would be required causing some disruption.

 

The delay is not an issue with the site licence holder, but with the utility company, which is outside of the City Council’s remit, and further information would be passed on as soon as available.

 

A resident referred to an issue regarding water pressure on site which had been ongoing for some time.  However, following a letter to the MP, this was quickly resolved, and it was useful to note this approach if other issues outside the remit of the Council could not be resolved in a timely manner.  Councillor Morse confirmed that this was useful advice to aid securing assistance in any unresolved matters.

 

Grant assistance for energy efficiency measures are still available.  It was noted that some residents were unable to afford works, but had also been rejected for a loan due to low income.  Applications for grants were means tested together with an occupational health assessment and a statement of need to get through to the next part of the process.  Rules are set by government, but if the case in question could be forwarded to Alice, then this can be looked into further.

 

The consultation to seek views on the future of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO3), had concluded.  This was a programme that delivers energy efficiency measures to low income and vulnerable households.  The Order was currently working its way through Parliament.  Once the legislation has passed, a Statement of Intent would be produced.  As long as applicants meet the criteria, eco funding would be approved.  It was noted that 70-75% of park homes not had any energy efficient improvements installed.

 

A resident reported on an alternative cladding company, Park Home Improvements.  Therm Eco have carried out a large proportion of the work on park home sites to date, but it was noted that they were not aligned to just one company.