A closer working relationship with registered social landlords, who provide more than 7,000 homes in Worcester, is on the cards following a successful meeting with the Leader of Worcester City Council.
Councillor Lynn Denham and her Deputy Leader, Cllr Jabba Riaz, met with senior managers from Rooftop, Platform, Stonewater, Sanctuary, Bromford and Citizen housing associations.
“Social landlords provide housing to a very large number of Worcester residents and it’s clear that there is much to be gained from a closer working relationship between them and the City Council,” said Cllr Denham. “This is the start of a new era of co-operation, with shared actions and interests.”
The meeting was held in response to a motion passed by the Council in March this year, which stated: “We believe that by working in partnership with these landlords, they could make a greater positive contribution to many aspects of city life, to mutual benefit.”
Senior managers from Rooftop, Platform and Citizen attended the Guildhall in person, while representatives from Stonewater, Bromford and Sanctuary joined online.
Cllr Denham said: “I was particularly pleased to hear about the levels of support that the social landlords provide to their tenants to help them with challenges like managing their budgets and making benefit claims. As councillors, it would be useful to know more about this area of their work, so we hope to put in place an information-sharing agreement.”
Other issues discussed included the landlords’ work to improve the standards of their properties and make them more energy-efficient, their plans to build more properties, and the potential to work with the City Council to recruit more local people for jobs at the housing associations.
Cllr Denham said: “Fly-tipping is a challenge for both the City Council and the social landlords, so that is an area where we are planning to share information and work together to tackle the areas where the biggest problems are.”
She added: “This was a very positive first meeting and more will follow, focused on specific issues. By regularly sharing information and learning, the City Council and our city’s registered social landlords can work together for the good of the people of Worcester.”
