A considerable portion of the correspondence Nickie receives is concerned with housing, particularly around repairs and major works.
As an MP, Nickie has no jurisdiction over local councils nor the ability to instruct them, nor residential housing providers to rectify problems such as; damp, mould, leaks or issues such as noisy neighbours. Despite this, Nickie firmly believes that part of her role as your elected representative is to be your advocate when ongoing problems are not dealt with in a proper and timely manner.
Since entering the Commons, Nickie has been in dialogue with both the City of London Corporation and Westminster City Council, as well as local housing providers to ensure social housing residents across the Two Cities can be assured that their homes will be safe and of good-quality. To this end, she hosted a meeting with representatives of ten local social housing associations to discuss the challenges faced by the social housing sector across the constituency.
Nickie was joined by a mixture of Chief Executives and Directors of; City of London, Soho Housing, L&Q, Church Army (Portman House Trust), Peabody, Dolphin Living, The Guinness Partnership, Octavia, and Network Homes. Westminster City Council and Notting Hill Genesis were also invited but dropped out before the meeting. Nickie hopes to arrange meetings with both in the future.
During the meeting, Nickie raised some of the common issues residents raise with me - from ongoing damp and mould problems to long housing waiting lists, poor communication about major works and fire safety issues. Nickie was pleased to receive assurances on the steps being taken by the Housing Associations and recognition of the areas where improvements need to be made to address these concerns. These meetings will continue to be a regular occurrence to ensure that residents are getting secure and stable homes they can be proud of.
