Sheffield council has agreed a pact with the city's registered social landlords to tackle antisocial behaviour after it called for them to play a greater role.

South Yorkshire Housing Association, North British Housing Association, Northern Counties Housing Association, Hallam Housing Society, Arches Housing, Equity Housing Group, Home Group and Target Housing have all signed an action plan to improve the way they deal with the problem.

The council – one of four "trailblazers" identified by the government on Tuesday – contacted the associations on Monday to inform them of their roles in the plan. The council's executive director, Joanne Roney, then met with them to discuss the issue.

Mick Crowder, manager of the housing estates and tenancy management unit at the council said: "There's definitely been an issue about engaging RSLs. They've been slow to get on board, but now it seems, at chief executive level at least, there's a willingness to deal with this."

Measures to be taken include formulating a standard city-wide antisocial behaviour order agreement, council training for RSL employees, and fixing up street-level meetings between housing officers, police and RSLs.

Hilary Keenan, group director of operations at Places for People Group, parent of North British Housing, said: "Antisocial behaviour is a key part of our business plan and upping our game on it is a key priority for us."

Source

Housing Today