This document looks at how Poplar HARCA would work with your steering group to get important information to, all residents and help with the Housing Choice process.

A letter should be sent to all residents explaining what has happened so far; that Poplar HARCA has been selected as RSL partner for stage 3 of the process and explaining exactly what this means. The letter would also outline what happens next, making it clear that residents still have the opportunity to make a choice about the management of their homes. We would work with your Steering Group to prepare this letter. We will translate this information into different community languages if necessary.

We would publish a newsletter about the process for residents and distribute it with an introduction to Poplar HARCA and a letter from our Chief Executive.

Setting out a process leading to a tenants ballot - working out the timetable

Full consultation with residents will be a vital part of Stage III of Housing Choice. The basis of this will be for residents to choose whether or not to transfer the ownership of their home from the Tower Hamlets Council (LBTH) to Poplar HARCA. We would discuss and agree with you a timetable for this, while bearing in mind the amount of information that residents would need to make that decision. From our experience on previous ballots we would say that this should be no less than six months. However, there will be external factors such as securing funding from the Government and a place on the Governxnent's transfer programme that will influence how soon a ballot can be held.

Robert Lantsbury, our Resident Empowerment Manager (REM) would discuss with the Estate Steering Group and the Independent Resident Advisor, how to change the Steering Group into a Shadow Estate Board and elect a representative to join the Poplar HARCA main board as a Shadow Director. Robert would also discuss the possibilities of setting up, from the Steering Group / Shadow Estate Board, a range of sub-committees to focus on individual aspects of the pre-ballot process. For example a Technical Sub-committee could appoint master planners and contractors for the building works and steer technical issues through to the ballot. Other sub-committees could concentrate on service delivery and other policies, which would work out the basis of the offer to residents later in the year. Each of these sub- committees would be administered by Poplar HARCA and would be supported by a Poplar HARCA officer. The REM would also engage leaseholders to form a small representative group so that their issues can be discussed separately.

One of the most important benefits for you working with Poplar HARCA, in stage 3 of Housing Choice, will be that your steering group will join a big family of other local resident representatives. This means that you will be able to get advice and support from your fellow representatives both now and if you finallyjoin Poplar HARCA followirig a successful ballot. Your representatives will also be invited tojoin ourjoint estate panel as observers and attend many other events, training sessions and conferences with our resident representitives.

We are already laying the groundwork to enable your steering group to make an early selection of a master planner, which Poplar HARCA would pay for. Once you have appointed the master planner the following process would lead up to a ballot. This process would initially be discussed and agreed by the technical sub group.

First, the appointed master planner for the area would gather information from residents through questionnaires, open day events, drop-ins, door to door surveys etc, leading to a list of the main problems on the estate(s). The list would reflect residents' priorities.

Second, a 'snapshot' stock condition survey of key external and internal components would be carried out. The findings would be combined with information about known building problems from the council, and details of major works and / or surveys undertaken within the last ten years, to give a picture of the work that would be needed.

Master planners and Poplar HARCA would prepare options for improvements and repairs to the estates, based on the above information and our combined experience for resolving the various problems with the types of buildings concerned. Wherever possible, these proposals would be developed with a partner contractor to ensure that they were realistic. Costs would be worked out for each element. We have contractors who are already prepared to do some of this work for free.

The Shadow Estate Board would present all the options to residents as a 'shopping list' of works categorised as essential and optional, with preliminary costs for each. Residents would be consulted on their preferences and priorities for optional works and time scales on each estate. The costs would need to be compared against any pre-determined budget for the estate(s) which, in turn, would depend on the amount of 'dowry' agreed by central government / LBTH, in addition to the finance that Poplar HARCA would be able to borrow. We would work with LBTH and the Government on your behalf to secure the funds needed for your estate.

One of our strengths is that we can bring residents, master planners and a contractor together early on, so they can work as a team right from the start. Decisions on time-scales and programmes would be part of these early discussions; this would help ensure that realistic programmes are prepared and expectations met. Our collective experience in working on similar buildings and estates with similar problems wouId be a major benefit to the Lansbury Estate in this respect.

The master planning process, before the ballot, would consist of the presentation of these priced options against any known budget, so residents were fully aware of the available options. If the ballot were positive, we would develop more detailed proposals with residents to enable building contracts to start as soon as possible after the transfer.

We will also set up a service delivery sub-group of the shadow estate board with your steering group so that you can begin to think about what type of service delivery ydu want. Your representatives will be able to talk to residents from our estates to see what.we do already and then make any changes or new ideas that you want for Lansbury Estate. As you have already told us, one of the most important services to discuss will be community safety, our community safety team will meet with your steering group to work out the best approach that will s`ort out the crime and anti-social behaviour problems that you are experiencing. Another important area will be providing services for the elderly and we will look to getting your elderly persons warden service up and running as soon as possible.

Many of you may already know Tracey Fletcher and her team who work from the Alton Street Neighbourhood Centre nearby. Tracey will want to start work with you on a community regeneration strategy for your estates, which covers what community facilities and activities you want to take place. You may also want to set up a community regeneration sub-group of fhe shadow estate board to do this.

While the aptions for capital investment on the estate will be an important consideration, residents will have a number of other concerns. Working with your steering group we would agree on the most pressing concerns. Our experience in previous transfers would be invaluable at this stage; we are already preparing leaflets, which will help this process and save valuable time later. We would then work with the steering group to arrange a full programme of consultation that will ensure that all residents have enough information to say 'yes', or 'no', to transfer.

The following are examples of the issues that we know will be important:

• rents and service charges
• right to buy
• conditions of tenancy - secure v assured
• Ieaseholder contributions to works costs
• housing policy (re-housing / transfers / exchanges / succession)
• governance of Poplar HARCA
• Community regeneration
• Service delivery
• Community safety

We would issue fact sheets on all of these along with any others that you feel should be covered.

We are also proposing to produce a video, which would be issued to every household on the estate. We have found from experience that a video is an excellent and accessible way of setting out the facts to residents before a ballot and towards the end of the consultation process.

Our experience tells us that the most successful consultation is resident lead. Effective consultation relies on skill and experience to ensure that everyone's voice is heard. We would provide whatever resources are necessary for this process to happen against a preagreed timetable. We will do all the "donkey work" for these to make sure there is no pressure on your resident representatives.

There are a number of ways of conducting the ballot, and it will need careful planning. We propose that the ballot should be conducted by the independent Electoral Reform Society, which has a great deal of experience in transfer ballots. The consultation process will gradually focus on the ballot and the key issues for residents to conSider about transfer or staying with the council. A formal offer will be prepared by the Council, with the assistance of Poplar HARCA, and this will become a legal agreement between Poplar HARCA and the estate once transfer takes place. Poplar HARCA will be bound to deliver what it promises in this document.

Only tenants' votes count in the ballot because their tenancies will be 'assured' rather than 'secure'. Leaseholders are protected by the terms of their lease and this will not change - only the freeholder will change. Leaseholders will be consulted, but any vote will not count in favour or against transfer. There will need to be a turnout of more than 50% and a yes vote of more than 50% of tenants for the transfer to succeed. A non-return is not counted as either a yes or no vote. The Shadow Estate Board / Steering Group will be fully involved in the process leading up to and during the ballot.

©Poplar Harca 2003