Councillor Gabriela Salva Macallan declared a personal interest in that she resides in a Clarion Housing Association property and she works for Groundworks.

To approve as an accurate record the minutes of the meeting held on 26 February 2019.

RESOLVED:

1.    The minutes of the meeting held on 26 February 2019 were approved as an accurate record and signed by the Chair.

The Chair decided to change the order of business at the meeting. The reports were discussed in the following order:

·         The National Planning Policy Framework and Letwin Review on Build Out Rates

·         Responding to Growth and Water Infrastructure Needs and Tackling the Issue of Low Water Pressure

·         Social Landlord Performance Quarter 3

·         Infrastructure Planning and the Infrastructure Delivery Plan

·         Strategic Plan Reporting Quarter 1-3, 2018/19.

For convenience the minutes will follow the order published on the agenda.

Presented by Matthew Pullen-Infrastructure Planning Manager.

The item will help Members understand how Thames Water is responding to growth and infrastructure needs, in particular for new and existing households.

The Committee Received the Report of Matthew Pullen (Major Projects Development Officer) regarding low water pressure. Simon Moore and colleagues from Thames Water were present to respond to questions from Members.

Questions and responses:

Can we have a detailed breakdown of complaints? TW representative agreed to provide the committee with a detailed breakdown of complaints with analysis. He said the information was not ready for presentation at the meeting but he could provide this post meeting.

What is the impact of water boosters for the rest of the building? There is a common issue amongst residents that once water is used in one part of the house, pressure falls in another part.

TW representatives said that booster boxes were installed for the whole block and were designed to supply the whole property. He could not comment on low pressure for private set ups.  

Are there boosters in surrounding areas for existing customers? Yes, Thames Water looks to improve areas as a whole not just the new builds.

How is the water pressure measured? Thames Water takes measurements throughout the day and at critical points. Where there is a low pressure issue a technician is sent to investigate. A measurement device or logger is left at the customers stop value for the next couple of days to continue to record pressures. Thames Water produced an annual pressure profile.

Residents have experienced a reduction in water pressure after the introduction of a new build in the area. Can TW install temporary measures in blocks to resolve problems in the short term, whilst longer term infrastructure is being developed?

TW representatives said that they were operating at an average pressure of 1.8 bar which was above the 1 bar statutory requirement. Members pointed out that Bow and Poplar were getting below the average pressure.

TW representatives said TW had installed additional booster pumps to address concerns raised by Tower Hamlets residents. They were not aware of any further projects to install additional boosters in blocks. There was however a longer term plan for reinforcing works from Walthamstow to feed into the borough over the next year. This would help alleviate pressure issues.

Some people fear that installing a water meter would increase their bill. How proactive are you in reducing the water bill considering water bills have gone up, especially for THCH residents?

TW representatives said that they were using THCH as a collection authority. They would need to take this query back for investigation before commenting.  With regards to lowering bills, TW offered a range of affordable tariffs and advised people to look into switching their tariff to lower costs.

Could you provide us with data on the number of call outs you have in relation to low pressure complaints? Thames Water representatives said they do have this data and would send it to the Committee.

Councillors were asked to send Simon Moore a list of affected properties or housing associations affected for investigation. Councillors said Poplar HARCA properties in particular seemed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Presented by Matthew Pullen – Infrastructure Planning Manager. The item aims to provide a review of the Council's infrastructure delivery plan and developments.

The Committee received a presentation from Matthew Pullen (Major Projects Development Officer) on the Infrastructure Delivery Plan.

In response to questions from Members officers the following was provided:

 The council had a general idea of how much infrastructure was required. The infrastructure delivery plan was at a formative stage and further projects could be added to it.

The Council allocates sites for social infrastructure. It conducts viability impacts on sites and determines level of affordable housing. Housing and infrastructure assessments are conducted simultaneously in order to anticipate need.

Consultation exercises included surveys, information posters at idea stores, website and videos, drop-in sessions and workshops. The council aims to employ digital solutions in order to improve accessibility. It was a challenge to balance resources against the number of projects. Members said it was difficult to locate the Local Plan on the Council’s website.

 There has been a slight delay on the Annual Infrastructure Plan due to a planning inspectorate examination. The annual update and examination results are due to be published soon in 2019.

The council works closely with the LLDC who have the overall authority for planning and delivery including the allocation of S106 money.

ACTION: For Matthew Pullen to re-upload the Local Plan on a more prominent page of the council’s website. 

RESOLVED:

1. To note the presentation.

Report of David Williams – Deputy Divisional Director, planning and building control.

The presentation will aim to help Members understand the changes to the NPPF and the findings of Sir Oliver Letwin's Review and the likely impact on Tower Hamlets, including how the Council can respond working with partners to drive absorption rates.

The Committee received a presentation from Matthew Pullen (Major Projects Development Officer) on the National Planning Policy Framework.

In response to the presentation officers and members provided the following comments:

Housing projections are informed by a combination of the London Plan and local need assessments. Tower Hamlets is maintaining targets above the national average in relation to housing delivery.  A slow-down was not expected.

The Letwin review was not targeted to London. It discusses issues such as labour shortage and building skills which seemed to apply to areas like Kent, Essex and Surrey where building projects were not being completed fast enough. In contrast Tower Hamlets had been a top deliverer for the last 8-9 years.

The Chair thanked officers for their report.

RESOLVED:

1. To note the presentation.

Standing item.

The Committee received a report on Q3 2018/19 performance indicators. The report was introduced by Shallim Uddin (Affordable Housing Co-ordinator). Catherine Kyne and Lisa Buckingham from Clarion were present to respond to Member questions.

Only half of your member enquiries are responded to within 10 days. Can you let us know why this is and where things have gone wrong?

Representatives from Clarion acknowledged that responses were not being made in time but said that they were working on improving the quality of responses as a priority and then would look to improve the speed of response. Reasons for delay included:

·         a two-step review process by management on responses which sometimes resulted in redrafts.

·         The underlying service – the organisation was transitioning from one repair service to a new contractor so they were also dealing with routine day to day complaints as well as new contractor teething issues. This inflated demands on officer time. It was predicted that once the contractor performance issues improved, enquiry response times would improve.

Fly tipping is a big issue how do you deal with this problem? Clarion officers said they have a bulk pick up service and an officer dedicated to resolving refuse issues. If there was a boundary issues they would communicate with the council to get the rubbish cleared.

They were planning to introduce a gold silver bronze performance standard on blocks. Bronze blocks would generate an investigation and action plan.

It was noted that Circle Housing had been poorly performing and had since been tuped over to Clarion where its performance improved to a satisfactory level. Members said it was important residents got better than satisfactory going forward.

Members appreciated Clarion’s candour in acknowledging that there was room for improvement. They said they hoped Clarion would use the complaints as a learning opportunity and requested a written update in six months’ time.

ACTIONS:

• Sandra Fawcett to speak to the THHF benchmarking sub-group Chair about driving up performance where levels were at 50% or less.
• The Committee asked officers to present performance data in a consistent format. Sandra Fawcett to advise officers on preferred format outside of the meeting. It was suggested that full year figures should be presented alongside the Quarter 4 report to show better year to year comparisons. 

RESOLVED:

1. To note the report.

Standing item.

The Committee received the report of Mark Baigent, Interim Divisional Director of Housing and Regeneration, on the Strategic Plan Q3 2018/19.

The Committee noted that the Regeneration Team would be recruiting new officers to implement the plan and that further details on any action plans and timelines would be advisable by the new officers.

Members requested breakdown of affordable and socially rented units.

ACTION:

Mark Baigent to provide the Committee with a breakdown of affordable and social rent units.

RESOLVED:

1. To note the report. 

The press and public were excluded from the proceedings, in accordance with

Section 100 (A) of the Local Government Act 1972 as amended, on the grounds that further consideration of the item and options would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A to the Act. - Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding the information) and would not be in the public interest.

To discuss other business the Chair considers urgent.

·         THH Strategic Review - A verbal discussion.

The Committee moved into a closed session to discuss the Altair Report concerning the option appraisal conducted on Tower Hamlets Homes.