Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the
Kennington Park Estate Tenants’ Association
held on 25 September 2013 at the Kennington Park Estate Community Centre
Present: 26 Tenants and Leaseholders resident on Kennington Park Estate, M Evers in the chair
In attendance: Cllr Jane Edbrooke,
- APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Jack Hopkins and Nigel Walker, Resident Services Manager, Hyde Southbank Homes
- MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE KENNINGTON PARK ESTATE TENANTS’ ASSOCIATION HELD ON 25 SEPTEMBER 2012
2.1 The minutes of the 2012 Annual General Meeting were approved as a correct record of that meeting.
2.2 Matters arising from the minutes of the 2012 AGM were covered by the agenda for this meeting. However, residents identified parking control and enforcement as an issue of particular concern and an issue which should have been resolved in the nearly 12 months since the introduction of the legislation prohibiting the use of wheel clamps as a means of enforcement. Residents felt very let down at the poor service received from HSH/Hyde and wished to register disappointment and dissatisfaction.
3. ANNUAL REPORT FROM THE TENANTS’ ASSOCIATION
A written report was circulated to all present and made available on the KPETA website. The report covered:
Service charge scrutiny and review: Work undertaken by the Tenants’ Association
CCTV monitoring system and service charges: Formal complaint made by Tenants’ Association on behalf of residents of KPE
Consultation on new parking enforcement system: Extremely slow progress despite great pressure and many representations from the Tenants’ Association
Changes to welfare benefits: the Tenants’ Association maintained a watching brief and arranged for information to be made available to tenants
Extension of cleaning and grounds maintenance contract: The contract had been extended rather than retendered even though the Tenants’ Association had made it clear that residents were very much against extension of the contract
Changes to the Hyde Southbank Homes Board: The Tenants’ Association had made its opposition to the centralisation of the HSH Board very clear to management on the basis that it was likely to result in a less responsive service to residents at the local level. (The discussion was continued at item 7, see below.)
Residents discussed the activities recorded in the Annual Report and the Report was formally received by the Tenants’ Association.
4. FINANCIAL REPORT FROM THE TENANTS’ ASSOCIATION FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2012/13
The financial report was presented in writing along with the Annual Report. The Financial Report was approved formally by the Tenants’ Association.
- ELECTION OF BLOCK REPRESENTATIVES TO JOIN THE TENANTS’ ASSOCIATION STEERING GROUP
Nominations were invited for block representatives to join the TA Steering Group. The following were formally proposed and seconded as block representatives and formally agreed by those present.
Brockwell: Jennifer Gore
Grace: Michael Angus, Jennifer Gore
Read: Susan Lilley
Sherwin: Raquel Matos, Gail Sixsmith
Lohmann: No nomination
Hornby: Kerry Young, Marilyn Evers
Key: Cristina
Abel: Andrea Figueras (to be confirmed)
Blythe: Bernard Jennings
Alverstone: Marco Barrella, Sonia Reid
Lockwood: Lynn Phillips
Blades: Joan Twelves
- 2012/13 REPORT FROM HSH BOARD, HSH RESIDENT ASSURANCE COMMITTEE AND HSH RESIDENT FORUM
It was confirmed the TA had made a formal request to the HSH Board and the HSH RAC for a report on 2012/13 activities on behalf of residents. The Chair referred to the Annual Report detailing recent issues considered and action taken by the HSH Resident Forum. It was also confirmed that the HSH Board had sometimes reported to the TA on its activities when requested and sometimes not.
No report was received from the HSH Resident Assurance Committee.
- PARKING ENFORCEMENT ON KENNINGTON PARK ESTATE: PROPOSALS FROM MANAGEMENT
It was reported that the TA had asked for and expected clear information from management about the proposed parking enforcement arrangements on the Estate. There had been no parking enforcement arrangements since October 2012. The information requested had not been made available. Residents confirmed profound dissatisfaction and concern particularly in relation to unauthorised parking by non residents and by residents not in possession of a current parking permit.
- PROPOSALS FROM HYDE GROUP TO INCREASE CENTRALISATION OF SERVICES AND CONTROL FURTHER AWAY FROM HSH RESIDENTS
The Annual Report presented at the meeting included a piece on the changes to the Hyde Southbank Homes Board and the implications of those changes for the services provided to HSH residents. The Chair referred to the motion passed unanimously by the HSH Resident Forum at its recent meeting (reproduced in writing in the Annual Report) and proposed that Kennington Park Estate Tenants’ Association should also pass the motion in order to register formally residents’ objections as identified in the motion (as follows:)
In the light of our experience as residents of Hyde’s centralised call centre where the operatives do not know who we are or where we are or the history of the problem we are trying to tell them about, KPETA along with the HSH Resident Forum, is seriously concerned that a more remote HSH Board with no HSH residents and no local Councillors means no local voice, no local control, no local understanding, no local knowledge and is very likely to result in a less responsive service to residents at local level. KPETA, therefore, objects to Hyde reducing our local democracy in this way.
The motion was proposed by the Chair and seconded by M Barrella. The motion was put to the vote and approved by 15 votes in favour, with no votes against.
- HOUSING MANAGEMENT AND ESTATE MANAGEMENT ISSUES FROM TENANTS AND LEASEHOLDERS
Residents took the opportunity to report to management problems in connection with housing management and estate management. A resident of Hornby House expressed disappointment at the time it had taken to deal with the deluge of water from the roof tank overflow. A resident of Sherwin expressed concern about very slow repairs to communal lighting.
10. SUPPORT FROM HYDE PLUS FOR GROUNDS MAINTENANCE ON THE ESTATE
A briefing was received on the proposal from Hyde Plus to support and pay for grounds maintenance initiatives on the Estate.
11. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
A resident of Sherwin House reported on the construction works to be undertaken on Kennington Green by the Northern Line Extension project. Local residents had established a Group to monitor developments and to try to protect the Green. An event to gather support and disseminate information was to be held on the Green the following weekend to which all were invited.
12. DATE OF NEXT MEETING OF THE TENANTS’ ASSOCIATION AND APPROVAL OF DATES OF MEETINGS IN 2014
The next meeting of the Tenants’ Association was scheduled for 27 November 2013 and the dates of meetings for the forthcoming year were approved: 19 February, 16 April, 9 July, 24 September and 19 November 2014.