‘A victory for residents’: Bristol housing chiefs vow to let tenants have a voice
Cross-party Bristol city councillors hailed it as a residents' victory
Bristol City Council housing chiefs have vowed to listen better to residents and let them shape policies that directly affect their lives.
The cross-party homes and housing delivery committee unanimously approved a two-year strategy setting out how tenants and leaseholders will have their voices heard and acted on.
It was hailed as a ‘victory for residents’ and includes a commitment to transform the culture of the authority’s housing service that ‘welcomes and acts on resident feedback’ and where ‘staff take responsibility, learn from mistakes and focus on improving’.
The resident voice strategy is the result of a taskforce of councillors and officers who looked into how to engage better with Bristolians, which was set up as a response to the damning judgement of the Regulator of Social Housing in July 2024.
The government watchdog concluded there were ‘serious failings’ in the standard and management of Bristol’s council housing.
Cllr Sibusiso Tshabalala (Green, Central) told the committee on Friday, May 29: “This is a victory for our residents. Finally there is a clear process of engagement.
“The loophole of feedback has also got a process to it, it’s not a bespoke approach, and that is really fantastic.
“I was on the housing management board as a council tenant in temporary accommodation during lockdown, so I’ve seen the transformation from the board to where things are now, and the team has done a fantastic piece of work.”
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Bristol City Council head of housing management and estates Mark Kempt said: “At its core the resident voice strategy sets out how we will strengthen the way we listen to, understand and act on what residents tell us.
“It reflects a clear commitment to ensuring a resident’s voice is not only heard but is influential in shaping our strategies and policies.”
Committee chairman Cllr Barry Parsons (Green, Easton) said: “This is not just about how we communicate with our residents, this is about transforming everything we do so there is a direct line between our residents’ lived experience and what they tell us about that and what they ask us to do, and then how we respond to that and demonstrate that we are responding to that.”
Cllr Kerry Bailes (Labour, Hartcliffe & Withywood) asked why the previous housing management board was scrapped and replaced with this strategy.
Homes and landlord services director Fiona Lester replied: “We’ve all recognised the need for change and continue to evolve and to respond to our residents. That’s really at the centre of it.
“The desire was for the housing management board to be representative of all the residents we serve across the city and unfortunately it just wasn’t.
“Our residents don’t necessarily want to engage by coming to meetings so it’s really difficult to hear residents’ voices.
“Our approach began with how do we engage more readily with residents, how do we get a more diverse and representative group of residents involved with the organisation, and how can we allow our residents’ voices to be heard.”
Cllr Richard Eddy (Conservative, Bishopsworth) said: “The housing management board under the former mayoral model was of its time and this new way of working is much more transparent.”
The strategy includes residents’ voices being heard through a resident and community panel and a housing scrutiny panel.