CityWest Councillor Meeting

CityWest Homes held another of their update meetings for Councillors last night, to highlight the progress of the last few months.

We received a presentation from MORI showing tenant and lessee satisfaction rates and discussed resident engagement. The good news is that satisfaction rates have risen over the last three years, which is all credit to CityWest and their engagement team led by Lorna Whitehorn. Tenants generally are more satisfied than lessees, and CityWest recognise that they have a way to go in improving their relationship with leaseholders in the city. CityWest are shortly to revamp their communications with village residents, so hopefully we shall see some further improvements over the next few months.

We also had a detailed discussion regarding the repairs system, which a number of Councillors thought was not working as well as it could. CityWest have streamlined the number of contractors they use and are shortly to implement a new system which increases the onus upon contractors to get repairs right first time. All Councillors present agreed that they would like to revisit this at the next meeting to see if any progress had been made.

Finally, we had a long debate regarding major works. CityWest accept that they also have a way to go in convincing residents that they are completing works in an appropriate manner, and also for the best price possible. CityWest agree that they need to engage with leaseholders more and to engage in more of a dialogue.

Equally as importantly, CityWest announced that they would begin to consult with residents and Councillors regarding the spending programme for the next five years. We are very keen to make sure all affected residents in Maida Vale have the opportunity to further contribute, and we'll let you know once we've received the initial proposals.

Lee

(Photo of Tollgate Gardens courtesy of CityWest Homes)