Resident participation
Last updated: 25 July 2011 16:27 UKWe're a dedicated team that promotes a range of opportunities for council residents and leaseholders. We aim to ensure that you play an active role in developing and changing our housing services and make improvements to your area and community.
You can get involved in the following activities:
- the residents' consortium which plays an active role in creating the council’s housing strategy, policies and practices and to ensure your voice is heard
- the consortium link group which is formed of annually elected residents who represent particular groups to support their needs and interests
- the creation of resident associations and street and housing block representatives
- the House Talk editorial panel for you to contribute articles to your magazine
- funding for community events and improvement projects through Funds4U
- funding for young residents' personal development to help pay for equipment or training through Funds4U youth aspirations
- a range of training courses and special conferences for personal development opportunities
- the navigators resource centre which provides meeting rooms, IT facilities and access to the internet
- support with childcare, travel and administration expenses while you take part in activities
Recently, some of the ways that the resident participation team have worked with residents have included:
- 12 residents wanted to help their neighbours and improve their area by becoming street/ block reps. We now have 34 street/ block reps covering 20 different streets and blocks.
- There were six area panels, and four were poorly attended. These no longer meet but there are now seven panels (five newly formed) that were formed on request by residents and are running well.
- Three new resident associations were advised and supported and we now have 10 recognised associations serving over 1,200 households across Portsmouth and Leigh Park areas.
- 204 residents wanted to improve their knowledge and skills. They asked us to organise training for them in a range of subjects such as: committee skills, nutrition, first aid, healthy living, how to plan an event and food hygiene. We also funded MIDAS training for residents so they can take residents out in a minibus. In total we spent £11, 911 on resident training.
- We held 19 gazebo events over the summer of 2010 and attended over 40 community events in total. We had over 40 community events in total. We had over 360 residents talk to us at our gazebo events and even more at the community events.
- From November 2009 to July 2010, 1,093 residents gave over 1,538 hours of volunteering time in the Navigators Resource Centre and 277 residents used the free internet and printing facilities in the IT suite for over 590 hours.
- There are currently 1,492 actively involved residents on our database who have attended meetings, replied to surveys, come to events and had training.
What will you do?
If you would like to know more about the opportunities to be involved please contact the team. Click on the What would you do webpage here to find out more.
Contact us
- Write to Navigators Resource Centre, Freepost (SCE14360), Portsmouth, PO1 2BR - no stamp needed
- Call for free on 0800 0321 531
- Email participation@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
- Find House Talk magazine and the resident participation team on Facebook! Click here or search 'House Talk' on Facebook
