Tenants have their say
More than nine out of ten tenants and leaseholders of St Albans City and District Council feel safe and secure, a survey has revealed.
A team from the Council’s housing service went door-to-door over the summer to ask householders for their views on a range of key issues.They were supported by ward Councillors and gained 250 survey replies from around 1,000 households. The results of the poll have been analysed and show that:
* 94% of residents felt safe and secure in the area in which they live;
* 89% had no problems in contacting the Housing Department; and
* 53% said they would be interested in using online services such as monitoring their rent account.
Residents who live in flats pay a charge for certain services. They were asked to mark the services out of 10 with 1-4 rated as poor, 5-7 as satisfactory and 8-10, good. The caretaking service got an average score of 7.5 while both the window cleaning and grounds maintenance services scored 7.
Among people’s top concerns were flytipping, overgrown trees in communal areas and a lack of parking.
Residents are being asked to help the Council crack down on flytipping by reporting any instances. If possible, they should provide descriptions of the vehicles and people involved. The Council is also carrying out an assessment of trees in communal areas to see which ones need to be trimmed.
On parking, a number of consultations have shown the majority of residents are against the introduction of Controlled Parking Zones. Others matters raised by residents related to street lighting at night, weeds in pavements and paths and pot holes on the roads. These issues have been passed to Hertfordshire County Council which is responsible for these services.Further research into the welfare of residents is to be conducted this month by evening telephone surveys.
The Council owns around 5,000 flats and houses which are rented to tenants. There are also just over 1,000 leasehold properties where the Council retains the freehold.
Councillor Brian Ellis, the Council’s Portfolio Holder for Housing, said: “The survey provides us with much valuable information about what really concerns residents.
“Our Estate Services Team is always looking for ways to improve the services we provide and this survey highlights the most pressing issues.
“The survey identifies where we need to make improvements in our efforts to achieve ever higher levels of customer satisfaction.
“I urge residents who are contacted and asked to take part in our telephone survey to do so. We want to hear what they have to say.”
Councillor contact:
Councillor Brian Ellis, Portfolio Holder for Housing for St Albans City and District Council.
Email: Cllr.B.Ellis@stalbans.gov.uk
Tel: 01582 767621
Contact for the media:
John McJannet, Principal Communications Officer, St Albans City District Council
Tel: 01727 296130
E-mail: john.mcjannet@stalbans.gov.uk