Orbit chiefs face action group in second meeting
ORGANISERS of a second meeting between Orbit tenants and the housing group say the meeting “went well but there was some tension in the room.”
Held at Sheldon Bosley Hub in Shipston last Tuesday, the event marked the second coming together of residents and Orbit representatives following a spikey affair at an inaugural meeting held in Stratford two months earlier.
At the most recent meeting, about 20 residents from Orbit Tenants’ Action Group and six Orbit representatives attended to discuss two main topics – repairs and service charges.
Helen Nelson, founder of the action group, said: “There were only two main topics to allow time for more tenants to raise questions, these were reporting repairs, which incorporated online reporting, telephone reporting, customer service and timescales; Ground maintenance and cleaning contracts, which incorporated discussion about costs and the service received.
“There was some tension in the room, which was to be expected as this was the first opportunity for the tenants attending to share their experiences with Orbit directors and management.”
At the July meeting held in Bishopton Community Centre, Orbit management admitted they would “take on board” disgruntled residents’ demands for answers over a service they allege falls short of what they expect.
However, Orbit continue to argue that customer satisfaction is on the up and in a far better state than this time last year. Helen Nelson added: “Orbit were able to update us on the actions already taken since the first meeting in July, which includes retraining of customer service personnel, employing more customer service personnel and complaints personnel; investigation into the current online system to problem solve where it is currently letting tenants down; changes to the structure of contracting for ground maintenance and cleaning contracts.
“As with the meeting in July, Orbit staff were able to talk to tenants individually during the refreshment break and after the meeting and questions that were specific to individuals are to be followed up.”
The Tenants’ Action Group committee will meet within the coming weeks to reflect on the outcomes of these two meetings and ongoing communications with Orbit, to decide on their future strategy.
“We are encouraged that Orbit continue to communicate directly with us as an independent tenant-led group and act on queries passed on to them and feel that this working relationship is very positive,” Helen said.
Last month Orbit, which manages 7,000 properties in Stratford district, announced record financial results for the year ending March 2018 with annual revenues of £357million.
The figure, up 7.2 per cent on last year, has been attributed to increased rental incomes – an increase on £4million in the value of its private rental portfolio and other factors.
