Council housing tenants asked to share views on how they are engaged
Cheshire West and Chester Council are asking for the views of Council housing tenants on how they are engaged with as part of a consultation on a new draft Tenant/Leaseholder Engagement Strategy.
The Strategy sets out how the Council will engage with its tenants and leaseholders. The Council and the Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS) have worked with a group of tenants and leaseholders to develop the draft.
The draft strategy describes how Council tenants and leaseholders will be put at the heart of everything the Council does and meaningfully engage with its tenants and leaseholders in an open and transparent way. The strategy also describes how feedback from Council tenants and leaseholders will be used to improve services.
The draft strategy details four objectives:
- Listening and acting on feedback given – the Council will take the time to listen to its tenants and leaseholders and will ensure that it acts on the feedback and information they provide.
- Providing information and feedback – the Council will provide information about the services it delivers; and will also ensure that it provides feedback on the things that matter most to its tenants and leaseholders.
- Developing creative ways to involve tenants and leaseholders – the Council will ensure that there are as many ways as possible for its tenants and leaseholders to get involved.
- Providing safe homes, safe communities – the Council will commit to ensuring that its tenants and leaseholders are housed in safe homes and communities.
The Council owns 5,300 homes in the borough, predominantly in the areas of Ellesmere Port, Neston and Winsford. These homes are currently managed and maintained by the Council’s strategic housing partner, ForHousing. Due to ForHousing’s current strategic direction, both organisations anticipate that the contract will not be extended beyond the end date of June 2027. At the end of last year, tenants were asked for their views on their preferred option for how their homes are managed in the future, the results of this will be available in due course.
We are committed to working in partnership to support our tenants to prosper and improve their wellbeing and ensure neighbourhoods and communities are sustainable, safe and pleasant, providing affordable homes of the right type and quality. Last year we formed the Council Housing Management Board, which is a great way for tenants to raise questions about how their homes are managed and maintained, and endorsed the Together with Tenants Charter, which makes commitments to residents to ensure that they receive a high standard of service. We now want to hear people’s views on our strategy for engaging with tenants and leaseholders and making sure that people continue to benefit from an open and transparent service that listens.
Council tenants and leaseholders can have their say on the draft strategy via the following methods:
- You can attend our in-person Engagement Strategy Workshop by contacting us using the details below.
- Email your views to: housingstrategy@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
- Telephone: 0151 356 6410, to speak to someone in the Housing Strategy, team and quote: ‘Council Housing Tenant/Leaseholder Engagement Strategy Consultation.
- Write to us at: Council Housing Tenant/Leaseholder Engagement Strategy, Cheshire West and Chester Council, Housing Strategy, The Portal, Wellington Road, Ellesmere Port, CH65 0BA
- Paper copies and alternative formats of the consultation information and survey are also available on request using the contact details above.
You can tell us your views by completing our online survey at:
The consultation closes at 5pm on Sunday 13 April. The feedback of tenants and leaseholders will be used to help inform the development of the new Council Housing Tenant/Leaseholder Engagement Strategy, which will then be put forward for approval by Cabinet in the summer.