It has been an extremely busy couple of months, with lots of meetings including Cabinet, Housing Scrutiny and a Special Meeting discussing the budget and council tax. Last week we also got our new Housing Strategy, our Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy as well as our Housing Compact approved by Full Council.
If you are not already looking at the council decision making meeting details on our website, I’d encourage you to check it out.
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We also formally launched a 45-day reorganisation consultation in housing assets, management and housing strategy on Wednesday 24 April 2024. Those staff directly impacted were invited to attend a staff briefing where we were also joined by representatives from the trade unions and HR.
If you would like to read more about the proposals, provide feedback or submit a query you can find the consultation document and more information on how to respond on our SharePoint intranet page.
If you have any questions around what the proposed changes may mean for you, please feel free to contact your line manager or head of service. The deadline to provide feedback on the consultation is 12noon on Monday 10 June 2024.
Best wishes
Jane
From 1 April 2024, social landlords must annually publish their performance against the Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs).
The new set of Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) will help residents scrutinise their landlord’s performance. As landlords we need to collect and publish how tenants perceive our services and how these services are performing. We instructed KWest, in April 2023, to conduct resident surveys, they have just completed last quarters TSMs.
 The first residential building at Waltham Forest’s Council’s flagship development, Fellowship Square, reached a major milestone at the end of February. The new building will offer 61 affordable homes for local people including 27 for Waltham Forest residents on the priority housing list.
Waltham Forest Council and its Development Partner, Countryside Partnerships celebrated the topping out by laying and grouting a stone slab on the roof just opposite the iconic Grade II listed Town Hall clock tower. The first shared ownership homes in Block B at Fellowship Square will go on sale from March 2024.
 In March alongside our development partner Countryside Partnerships (part of Vistry Group) we celebrated reaching the ‘topping out’ of the first building to be delivered for the council at the final phase of the Marlowe Road estate regeneration scheme in Walthamstow.
These homes are part of the final phase of the regeneration of the Marlowe Road estate, known as Feature17, which will deliver a total of 258 new homes, of which 43% will be affordable (comprising 65 homes for social rent and 47 shared ownership) and 146 for private sale. Construction started in March 2023, and is progressing well, despite challenges arising from current market conditions, it is expected to complete in Autumn 2026.
In July 2023 planning permission was secured to build 83 new homes offering a mixture of 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments on the Priory Court Estate. In March 2024, Cabinet approved for the scheme to be 100% affordable, including 21 homes for social rent and 62 for shared ownership. |
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In addition to the new homes, we are also committed to enhancing the local community spaces on the estate. A new modern and larger multi use games area (MUGA) will be built to Sports England standards, complete with floodlights and a designated seating area. A new ‘play way’ route will connect the new homes with the rest of the estate, offering recreational activities, seating, and landscaped areas. We are also implementing a range of safety improvements on the estate including installing CCTV, enhanced street lighting, and additional cycling storage.
At the end of March, The Hill Group was appointed as the contractor to deliver this scheme.
Resident consultation took place last summer – working with the community, local councillors, and a local artist on the initial design. Feedback was largely positive with residents liking how vibrant, colourful, and expressive it was other comments noted that it didn’t fully represent the area and that it was too bright for some.
We took residents’ views on board and changed the design with the artists Good Wives and Warriors, so it feels more representative of Chingford Mount.
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The artwork is currently being installed on the side wall of the Launderette on Churchill Terrace, and subject to weather conditions should be complete in the next few weeks.
In March Inside Housing published their interview with Cllr Ahsan Khan, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing and Regeneration about our recent project at Sansom Road. Working with Aston Group the Assets team converted underused space / drying rooms into new homes. |
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Southfield Court, a hostel in Leytonstone
We have been shortlisted as finalists at the Unlock Net Zero Awards in the categories 'Green homes upgrade of the year' and 'Collaboration of the year' for our collaboration with Aston Group, our contractors, on the retrofit of Southfield Court, a hostel in Leytonstone.
Residents are benefiting from the new windows, doors and sprinkler system as well as the new external wall insulation (EWI) and new roof insulation. They can now also enjoy from the extra energy that is provided by the Solar PV. The residents have also felt a noticeable difference in temperature of the building thanks to the air source heat pump and better ventilation to compliment the system.
 Our Corporate Anti-Fraud Team (CAFT) is currently conducting a joint investigation with Newham, Islington and Lambeth councils into Right to Buy and housing waiting list scams. This is in relation to an alleged fraudster's Instagram and Snapchat accounts claiming to give priority status to secure council accommodation via the Housing Allocation system, as well as speeding up the Right to Buy process.
Millions of cyber-crimes and phishing scams are reported every year to the police so please be vigilant and tell residents to beware. The Metropolitan Police has created a series of books and videos with info on common scams and advice on how to stay safe online. For more information and learn how to protect yourself online, visit the Credit Industry Fraud Avoidance System (CIFAS) website.
If a resident reports they have been a victim of one of the above scams, please report the incident to the CAFT team by emailing fraud@walthamforest.gov.uk.
Resident News, our Housing magazine, was distributed at the end of March to all council tenants and leaseholders across the borough.
The next edition is scheduled to go out in June. If you have any new stories you would like to include, please speak to your manager.
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Work has begun to implement a new way within the NEC system for recording resident contacts. This is essential for streamlining communication processes and enhancing the resident experience. It will enhance user experience, increase efficiency, and eliminate confusion, ultimately leading to better communication outcomes for both staff and residents.
Currently, relying on ad hoc methods like notepads and emails leads to delayed and lost contacts, resulting in repeat calls from residents and complaints about communication failings. By utilising the contacts functionality in NEC, we can establish a dedicated record of each interaction, providing visibility into all communications with residents and ensuring timely responses.
Several people from Housing and the Customer Resolution Centre have already signed up to help with the testing and training. There's lots to do, and we are still working through some of the details, however we hope to complete the project by the end of June.
If you would like to find out more or be involved, please contact Mark Rogers, Programme Manager.
To help Managers and new housing staff settle in we've created a couple of SharePoint intranet pages, which include some useful documents and checklists. You can find these pages and more details on our Housing Induction page.
 
Earlier this month Housing Senior Leadership Team (HSLT) welcomed our new starters to our third face-to-face induction session, this included an overview of:
- Waltham Forest Council – our Directorate and Cabinet Members
- Our Housing service – HSLT structure, service areas and our key priorities.
- Your wellbeing – including information on our values, how to find employee support, staff benefits and groups.
 The next face-to-face staff induction in Cedar Wood House will be held on Thursday 20 June. If you are a new starter or have a new starter joining your team, please let Tara Walsh know and she'll add them to the invite list.
Our Engagement team have been working hard with the service teams to keep residents up to date around the borough. Over the last few weeks the team have been working on:
- A number of Easter events in conjunction with our contractors.
- An Eid celebration event at Priory Court Community Centre.
- A Housing Roadshow at Priory Court Community Centre.
- A Varied Ability Forum, previously known as the Disability Forum.
Priory Court Housing Roadshow - April 2024
Damien Nembhard, Housing’s Anti-social behaviour lead, won the Best Short Film at the Crystal Palace International Film Festival for his film “Love Language”.
In the past few weeks Love Language has been selected for international festivals based in the Middle East, Canada and the USA. Damien would like to enter as many festivals as possible, however this is an expensive process.
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Waltham Forest’s Race Equality Network is committed to supporting Damien with his goal to raise £1500. As such they have set up a collection pot to help support Damien on this fantastic journey. If you would like to donate, please use the link below. The pot will close on 2 May 2024.
Thank you for attending this year’s charity cake sale on Thursday 25 April at Cedar Wood House. Huge thanks to Sharon Louison and Andrea Kufour for hosting the event. Also well done and thank you to all our budding bakers!
So far we've raised over £400 which is incredible - thank you to everyone who has contributed. All funds collected will go towards supporting the very important work of the local Food Bank at Gaitskell House. If you were unable to attend you can still donate to the charity.
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Try and plan ahead, take regular breaks and don't leave taking your annual leave to the last minute.
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