MINUTES Nottingham CAP Wednesday 26th September 2012, West Park Pavilion, Nottingham Present: Cynthia Manners (Vice-Chair) Alan Manners (Observer) Caroline Soar Christine Moores Ray Pearson Natisa Anderson Cassius Allen Pamela Whitlock Kalvin Hobster Bob Elliott Jean Eastwood Lyn Watson Paulette Williams Kelly Mitchell Selina Crossman Jade Crossman (Observer) Shabana Khan Shazia Saleem Peter Cowley NCHA (Assistant Housing Director) Maggie Kelly NCHA (Service Manager, Resident Involvement) Heather Cooke NCHA (Resident Involvement Officer) George Gabriel Nottingham Citizen (Part Meeting)
1. Welcome & Apologies
Apologies were received from Martin Sills-Taylor, Barbara Sills-Taylor and Michael Richards.
Peter welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were made.
2. Minutes of Last Meeting & Matters Arising
The minutes were accepted as a true and accurate record.
3. Overview of the New Resident Involvement Structure
Peter explained about the recent CAP recruitment process and that the Terms Of Reference for the group stated it would have 12 members. There were more present at today’s meeting and people may therefore have to decide if this is the right group for them or if they would prefer to join another Customer Advisory Panel (CAP). It was also explained that the were certain expectations from members as explained in the Code Of 1 Conduct and Terms Of Reference and that if members were not able to fulfil those expectations, training and advice would be offered by NCHA before any decisions on membership are made.
Maggie and Peter ran through the Resident Involvement presentation, explaining the role and function of the CAPs and the members.
A comment was made about the 0800 number not being free if using a mobile. Peter said there is an 0115 number people can ring, however this isn’t on the letterhead - Peter to ensure the number is on the letterhead. PC The number is 0115 844 3150. Kelly suggested that a new fridge magnet with all the contact numbers is sent out.
The election of officers for the group (Chair and Vice-Chair) will be held at the Christmas get together on 7th December.
There are other ways people can get involved:
Estate Contact – be the contact for your neighbourhood, accompanying the Estate Officer on estate inspections and monitoring communal services. Kelly asked for the estate inspection dates for Barton Green. Ray said he didn’t think that people other than the Estate Contact should be invited onto estate inspections.
Scrutiny Panel – if people join this Panel, they can’t continue to be a CAP member.
Service Inspection Team (SIT) – this is run independently by the Chief Executive’s Department, but can continue to be a CAP member.
Board Membership – there are currently two tenant board members, with a vacancy for a 3rd member.
Training is available to CAP members, including committee skills, chairing skills, etc. NCHA staff training courses are available to CAP members, as are external training courses. NCHA offers work experience opportunities.
Peter ran through the Code of Conduct, which people read and signed.
4. Nottingham Citizen
In a follow-up to his talk at the last Nottingham CAP meeting, George Gabrial, Community Organiser with Citizens UK, addressed the group.
George encouraged people to get involved with NCHA and Nottingham Citizen to give people the opportunity to say what’s important to them. The group agreed that Nottingham CAP should be involved.
2 George is arranging an open forum with the candidates for the role of Nottinghamshire Police Commissioner on 12th November. Prior to this, he has arranged a meeting for groups to meet to set an agenda of what to ask the candidates. This will be held on 17th October, 6pm – 8pm, at Nottingham Trent University’s Newton Building. Anyone interested can talk to their neighbours and get their views to bring to the meeting. It was agreed that those interested would meet the week before the 17th to enable people to bring back the views of their community. Contact details of those PC interested to be passed to George.
There is a training course on 26th/27th October, covering negotiation skills, strategy, etc, to be held in Basford.
5. Estate Improvements Budget
Peter explained about the Estate Improvements Budget and ran through the proposals.
Church Street Mews, Bradwell – parking issues, bid approved.
Nottingham CAP members made several proposals of their own:
All Saints Terrace – query about closing off the alleyway to prevent drug AK dealing. Gates have been put up on some, Nottingham City Council may have a program.
Millers Court – Paulette requested bollards on her front garden to stop AK people parking there.
Foljambe Terrace – lighting on the back. AK
6. Local Action Plan
The action plan for Nottingham CAP will involve getting involved in local issues. The main issue will be Nottingham Citizen.
7. A* Community Awards – an Overview
Maggie explained about the A* Rewards Scheme. Two awards are available; community awards and individual awards. Community awards have been well-accessed (eg Moorgreen day trip to Butlins, Barton Green day trip to Drayton Manor). However, very few individual awards have been applied for. Maggie encouraged people to get local children involved on their estate (eg litter picks, tidying gardens), with the reward coming at the end (eg a day trip).
The dates of the draws for Rewards are 26.11.12, 25.02.13, 27.05.13, 26.08.13. 3 8. Estate Issues
Alderney Street – Ray said the handrails need painting or replacing as they look messy. He raised this at the recent estate inspection. PC
Millers Court – Paulette said that Maintenance have been informing contractors of who’s on CAPs, she would rather this didn’t happen. Peter PC to pass to Maintenance.
Hempshill Lane – Cynthia was given the wrong amount of rent for her standing order. Lyn reported a similar issue. To be recorded as a PC grumble.
Shabana queried about a patch of land near her property at All Saints Terrace, she has been asking who this belongs to for a number of years, PC but no-one has been able to give her an answer.
9. Any Other Business
Ray asked how NCHA will help tenants get online and help tenants apply for Universal Credit. Peter confirmed that this will be discussed by the new Tenancy CAP.
10. Date of Next Meeting
Following a discussion about the best day to meet, it was agreed that the next meeting will be on Friday 2nd November, 10:30am, Gresham Sports Pavilion, Gresham Park Road (off Wilford Lane), West Bridgford, Nottingham, NG2 7YF.
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