Resident involvement

The Challenge and Change group are a group of residents (tenants and leaseholders) and independents that work together to help improve services for council housing tenants and leaseholders This is a part of co-regulation, which means housing services self-regulates subject to challenge and scrutiny from its residents.

It may be you have a couple of hours a week to spare or could only help with a one off focus group but all are welcome to join. Tasks vary from consultations, project work and mystery shopping. Fantastic training is available, along with the chance to make new friends and be involved in your housing service.

Further information can be found on the Challenge and Change Group page.

Or, for a quick and friendly chat, contact Ian Seeckts at 01722 434353 or email Ian.Seeckts@wiltshire.gov.uk

Housing Matters is a free magazine that is produced by and for Wiltshire Council tenants and leaseholders. The magazine reports on local events and community issues. It also keeps tenants and leaseholders up to date on any changes that could affect the way that housing services are delivered.

You can read previous issues on our website where you can view and download the new digital format.

We welcome contributions from any tenants or leaseholders who can write a relevant feature on a subject that interests them. We also welcome photographs and other contributions. It is your magazine and your opinion counts.

If you would like to know more, submit any content, or request a paper copy of the magazine, contact the Resident Engagement team on 0300 456 0117 option 5 or email Tenantparticipation@wiltshire.gov.uk

We hold focus groups when there is a particular service or issue we would like to analyse and explore further with our residents. When a focus group is being set up we will advertise it to all tenants. Previous focus groups have included a Repairs and Maintenance focus group and an online training focus group.

If there are particular areas that you think would benefit from focus groups, contact the tenant participation team to discuss your ideas.

A residents association is a group of people who live in the same area and work together to represent the views of all residents and help make their community a better place to live. Some groups are set up to generally protect the interests of the community and improve the local area. A group can:

• Sometimes achieve more than an individual
• Represent the collective views of residents'
• Have a voice in planning for the local area
• Help improve the quality of life for all members of the community
• Represent the views of local people to the council or a landlord
• Be recognised as a democratically elected group and have more influence

Some groups are set up to achieve a specific aim, such as:

• Helping to tackle antisocial behaviour or crime
• Protesting against planned developments in their area
• Raising funds to improve local facilities such as community gardens or play areas

Members of associations find:

• They can develop a community spirit
• Individuals enjoy becoming more involved in their community
• They can improve opportunities for people to meet socially
• People get a sense of achievement and pride in a community that they have helped to build

If you would like help in starting up a residents association in your area or to find out more about residents associations already set up, contact the Resident Engagement team. The team will be able to assist you in finding a meeting venue, carry out flyer drops and advertising along with admin support and formalising an association. We have also produced a set of guidelines that can help you get started. There is advice on how to get started, plan and advertise your meetings, run your meetings successfully and how to form a committee with an example constitution and other documents.

1 - Publicising your residents association [136.64KB]

2 - Committee Roles [89.64KB]

3 - Example Residents Association constitution [205.83KB]

4 - Example meeting agenda [55.08KB]

5 - Agendas, minutes and action plans [106.36KB]

Wiltshire Council Housing are pleased to announce the return of our yearly Small Improvement Bids. This is a great opportunity for your community to be awarded environmental improvement works up to a value of £10,000 to cover the costs of improvements that benefit you and your neighbours.  

Perhaps you want to have new hardstanding created to improve car parking, cut back the trees and bushes around the communal footpaths or, install some seating or picnic benches to improve the communal garden at your block for the benefit of all tenants.  

Some successful bids from previous years include:  

• A bid for communal areas behind a block of flats to be improved and a playhouse for local children to be installed 
• A bid to have new hard standing areas created for additional car parking for residents   
• A bid to improve a community garden, provide additional outdoor seating and create new community spaces for residents to enjoy  
• A bid to resurface a play area and install a new basketball hoop  
• A bid to have the local housing car parks cleaned and new white lines painted, with overgrown bushes cut back and tidied  
• A bid from residents to drop the kerbs along their street in front of their properties so they could install their own driveways in their front gardens, meaning less parking  on the road which reduced congestion and improved the local environment 
• A bid to create patio areas in the communal garden, installation of new water butts for the gardeners to use and building new wooden planters  

The application process is simple  

1. Residents decide what they would like to be done together as a community. You could hold a meeting online or discuss via social media
2. Check out the Terms and Conditions on our website to see what we will be looking at for the bid to be successfully considered   
3. Download and complete the application form. Guidance is available, including pre- filled examples and the Resident Engagement team are on hand to help
4. You can include photos, drawings and any other relevant information to support the application. This should include a list of names and signatures from all local tenants agreeing and supporting what work they would like done 
5. Choose if you would like the work carried out by Wiltshire Council, or if residents will organise the works and use their own contractor (subject to the terms and conditions)
6. Fill out all the details, then, email it and supporting documents to Tenantparticipation@wiltshire.gov.uk .

Your Resident Engagement officer is on hand to help with any queries or to help with filling out the form. You can even book an online TEAMS meeting for an officer to speak to you and your community about the bid.

Contact us by email at Tenantparticipation@wiltshire.gov.uk or via the iHousing Portal.

Small Improvement Bids 2021 - Application Form [289.57KB]

Small Improvement Bids 2021 - Terms and Conditions [99.85KB]

Small Improvement Bid 2021 - Example of a completed application [280.88KB]

All Bids must be in by the end of May 2021!

Community groups can be set up for any reason, from a social book club to a sports team. Resident Engagement can help you set your group up and find access to support and funding as it grows. 

Examples of Groups that we have helped in the past include:

• Book Clubs
• Arts and Crafts Groups
• Friendship Groups
• Gardening Clubs

If you would like help in starting up a community group in your area or to find out more about groups already set up, contact the Resident Engagement team.  

St Andrews in Laverstock was concerned about security around the sheltered scheme. They began a neighbourhood watch group which meets for tea, cake and a chat every month. Sharon, one of the residents, co-ordinates the group as part of the wider Neighbourhood Watch for Wiltshire.

Information on how to start up a scheme or how to join one already running in your area is on the Neighbourhood Watch website. The Resident Engagement team can help your community set up and run a Neighbourhood Watch scheme.

I am the Cabinet member for Housing, Corporate Services, Arts, Heritage and Tourism on Wiltshire Council. I was first elected to Salisbury District Council and then to Wiltshire Council and I currently represent the Downton and Ebble Valley Division. I am delighted to be responsible for our Wiltshire Council owned housing as the Cabinet member. When I was first asked to take responsibility for council housing I had very little knowledge of the world of affordable housing. Now four years on I must admit I am hooked. Not only is it critical for us as a Council to provide good housing to the our tenants, we can also use our housing to help address other areas which can significantly improve peoples lives. I also firmly believe that we need to continue to build council housing so our stock is not eroded through the right to buy. We have so far built 180 new council houses since the program was agreed in 2014. I am committed to see a second and third stage of that program so we have a building program running far into the future.

I have been an Amesbury town councillor since 1991. I was mayor in 2007 and am chairman of a number of different committees. I was a Salisbury district councillor and in 2009, I became a Wiltshire councillor. I am the chairman of the Southern Area Planning Committee and the planning portfolio holder.

I was first elected in 1995 to Salisbury District Council and have always represented Harnham. I sat on the Housing Committee for many years and was the cabinet member for Community and Housing in 2007, before the role was split and I took on the community side of the portfolio. Council housing is a very passionate interest to me. I live right in the heart of a council housing estate, so I know many of the issues which tenants face. Housing also forms a big part of my casework from residents too. I very much look forward to working with the Housing Board for the good of tenants and the council.

My background in archaeology might not seem relevant to housing but I believe it is. I am adept at getting into the detail and putting pieces of the puzzle together to understand the bigger picture and the way this can affect tenants' lives. I enjoy a strong relationship with area boards, which are an important way to represent local opinion and fold this into decision making. I appreciate the importance of oversight in decision making.

I am a parish councillor and have been involved in voluntary work with a focus on research work for adoption support groups. I have also worked in a gaming environment that gave me a good understanding of finance. I am happy to debate all issues and can offer a particular focus on the financial side of housing provision as well as the impact that decisions have on tenants.

I am passionate about housing and housing related issues, having worked in housing support for over seven years. I have a wealth of local knowledge and an awareness of the types of housing matters that arise for residents within our area. I am a creative problem solver by nature and enjoy finding ways to identify and resolve issues to the benefit of all involved. I consider myself a keen advocate and hope to keep the interest of residents at the heart of strategy.

I worked in Bath City Council's property department before moving into the private sector as a consultant in the commercial and housing sectors. I am a trustee of a large charity specialising in almshouse provision for the elderly. I have also undertaken a voluntary position with a housing association in Somerset where I became chairman last year. As an experienced Chartered Surveyor I believe my range of skills will benefit both tenants and the housing board.

I began work in the housing sector in the late 1980s becoming head of service in the late 1990s. I stayed at this level, but in a different role, for a council then I moved to a housing association as a head of service, after which I moved back into local government. My career has recently involved consultancy, temporary and interim work. I have a range of skills to bring to the board, all of which are beneficial to tenants and vital to the effective provision of housing.

I have gained a range of important skills which can benefit tenants from working first for a housing association, then for a council housing department. I progressed to more senior roles and continue with voluntary work as a trustee for a small housing association. Possessing a range of skills and having housing experience, I understand the needs of our tenants and bring this understanding to the board.