Residents Building Safety Forum

1.1 25 residents attended the first Building Safety Forum, and a note was taken of all those who attended. 

1.2 EL and WA introduced themselves and their role as Building Safety Resident Engagement Officers. The Resident Engagement Officers are new roles in the Building Safety Team that have been created to develop Building Safety Resident Engagement Strategies for each high-rise building, a new requirement under the Building Safety Act. 

1.3 EL and WA shared that they are producing an engagement plan based on feedback received from residents.  

2.1 EL and WA shared the draft engagement plan. The engagement plan has been developed using feedback at the April Your Voice meeting on Building Safety, and information collected from residents in the ongoing profiling survey. 

2.2 Drop-in sessions are proposed to take place at each building, with a Resident Engagement Officer, Housing Officer and Caretaker in attendance.  General fire safety information and building safety information will be shared during the sessions. They will take place twice a year, alternating the time of day. 

2.3 Block inspections will take place twice a year, at alternative times of the day. This will be led by either the Fire Safety Manager or the Building Safety Manager. 

2.4 The Building Safety Forum will take place every 6 weeks whilst in its infancy, moving to quarterly when more developed. The key issues covered at the meetings will be decided by the residents attending the meetings, and key members of staff will be invited to relevant forums.  Forums will be held at different community rooms across the blocks and will take place in the evening. 

2.5 There will be the opportunity for 1 or 2 representatives for each block. Block representatives will receive building safety training and be more involved in engagement opportunities. 

2.6 There will be 3-week consultation periods for each building to collect feedback on draft Building Safety Resident Engagement Strategies, as required by the Building Safety Act.  The strategy will set out a plan for how residents will be communicated and consulted on any building safety decision that will affect them in their home. 

2.7 Communication will be improved by personalising direct communication based on resident preferences (such as by email or letter or translated to other languages). Building specific fire information will be distributed to residents every year. Noticeboards will be better utilised to promote engagement initiatives and outcomes. EL and WA have shared their contact details to provide clear communication routes. 

3.1 Residents held discussions in small groups based on the proposed engagement plan and other issues resident felt should be discussed at future Forum meetings.  Notes were taken at each table and specific issues raised have been escalated to the relevant teams. 

3.2 If you would like information of what was discussed at each table, please reach out to Waqas Alam or Emily Lloyd for an overview. 

4.1 WA and EL summarised discussions that were had on each table. 

4.2 Many were in favour of having drop-in sessions specific for each block, and where some blocks don’t have their own community space, some would be willing to attend nearby blocks that do have a dedicate space. 

4.3 There was a group discussion about ongoing anti-social behaviour issues, with residents requesting more CCTV in the blocks. 

5.1 The Forum agreed that the key issues that need to be covered in the next few meetings are anti-social behaviour, lifts and front doors.