The Camden Town District Management Committee (DMC) met on Wednesday 04 September 2024. They discussed a range of issues relating to Housing in the Borough, including the Right to Buy Scheme, the future of the Council's repairs Direct Labour Organisation, and the ongoing regeneration of the Holmes Road depot. The Committee approved an updated constitution for the DMC and noted the Cabinet Member for Better Homes' report, raising several issues for officers to provide more information on.

Direct Labour Organisation

Councillor Paul Convery raised a motion about the future of the Council's Direct Labour Organisation (DLO), which is currently based at the Holmes Road depot in Camden Town. Councillor Convery argued that the DLO was cheaper and more efficient than outsourcing repairs to external contractors, and that it provided valuable training and apprenticeships.

In order to provide the skilled labour force under democratic control that was needed for net zero as well as fulfilling Camden’s repairing obligations, there was a need to keep and strengthen the Council’s direct labour force and to keep Holmes Road depot.

The DMC expressed concerns about the impact of the proposed redevelopment of the Holmes Road depot on tenants and leaseholders living nearby. The Committee also expressed concern that the depot might close permanently, with no clear plan for a replacement.

Councillor Sagal Abdi-Wali, Cabinet Member for Better Homes, said that she supported the DLO, but that the Council had not yet seen the planning application for the redevelopment of the Holmes Road depot. She assured the DMC that they would be consulted on the plans once they were available.

Cabinet Member for Better Homes Update

Councillor Sagal Abdi-Wali, Cabinet Member for Better Homes, presented her report to the Committee. She highlighted the Council's plans to invest in its housing stock, including a commitment to build 1,000 new council homes.

The DMC raised concerns about the Council's ability to fully fund the maintenance of its housing stock. They noted that the government was considering changes to the Right to Buy scheme, which could impact the Council's ability to fund new homes and highlighted concerns that the Council is becoming increasingly reliant on income from new developments to fund the maintenance of existing housing stock.

The DMC asked officers to provide more information on a number of issues, including:

• The total amount being spent on temporary accommodation in Camden
• The number of rough sleepers in the borough
• The cost of the Council's fire safety programme
• Fines accrued from private landlords

Special Meeting

The DMC was advised that the reports regarding Lifts and Voids were not available for the meeting. The Committee expressed its concern regarding the lack of the provision of the papers, especially the report regarding Voids, due to its impact on the Housing Revenue Account through the loss of rental income for the Council. Void properties also had an impact on the allocation system as desperately needed homes were remaining empty that could be let to people on the Housing Allocation Register. The DMC reminded officers that they wished to see the Voids papers follow the format initiated by Laura Gillet whilst she was the officer responsible for the Voids Delivery Programme.

As a result, the DMC agreed to hold a special meeting to discuss the Voids and Lifts reports, as well as the issue of communications with tenants and residents. The Committee expressed an interest in discussing how residents' concerns are communicated to the Council, and how the Council communicates its decisions to residents. No date was set for the meeting.

DMC Funding Bid Process

The DMC were advised that following this cycle of DMC meetings, the Tenant Participation Team would formally take over the running of future Tenant and Resident Association (TRA) budget bids. Officers from the Tenant Participation Team would advise and support TRAs from beginning to the end of the process, and undertake an assessment of the project once it had been completed to assess whether the objectives had been met.

The Committee noted that there had been no new bids at this time.