We’re part of the London Councils Strategic Partnership, working with 21 local authorities and six housing associations to complete large scale retrofits to homes. This work can improve amenities for residents and improve performance, even saving them money on their bills.
As part of this project, we’re working with residents to create a “Resident-First” retrofit toolkit, supporting more effective, person-centred engagement during the retrofit process.
Southern Housing resident and Sustainability Champion, Melanie, took part in the resident workstreams and has kindly written about her experience:
“I was incredibly proud to be selected to join the Resident Advisory Panel and to be invited to shape how residents will experience green improvements in their homes.
Before joining the group, I found the situation quite daunting, working with a new group of residents and colleagues, and not knowing what to expect. However, all the residents were friendly and respectful, with a good sense of humour. This made the environment comfortable, and I was able to not only put forward my suggestions, but also to listen to the concerns of my fellow group members. Colleagues were very professional and made the sessions interesting - it was clear they were listening to our feedback and relaying our suggestions accordingly.
I was pleased that I was able to make a suggestion for the use of floor plan software, giving us an idea of how their retrofit work will look upon completion. This will ease any anxiety about how the work might take shape.
We were informed that residents might lose some green spaces as part of the retrofit work, so I suggested that we’re given some alternatives to replace the loss, for example, being signposted to use allotment spaces or vouchers to acquire some plants.
The level of transparency was key in this process, particularly in the initial stages. The idea of building trust and having good communication is essential for a successful project and will ensure residents feel confident. This will include having reliable and competent contractors and ensuring that we get value for money.
As part of the process, I also visited a building centre, it was a chance to continue our work in a new space, get a tactile view of previous retrofit projects and to explore suggestions to feed into the project. For me, I was impressed with the projects that won awards and received positive comments from residents in terms of how they improved their lives.
I hope that the retrofit project is successful and truly resident focussed, and that residents will be consulted and informed about the changes to their homes. I’m really honoured to be a part of this project and hope I can continue to be involved when it starts."
