Overview and Scrutiny Board
(a) To receive and note the minutes
(b) To consider any recommendations contained within the minutes
Minutes:
The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board provided Members with a verbal update in respect of the Board meeting that took place on 13th March 2023. At this meeting the Board had pre-scrutinised the Former Market Hall Site Proposal report, which was due to be considered later in the Cabinet meeting.
Cabinet was informed that Members had also received a report on mould and damp in public and private sector housing in Bromsgrove. Councillor Hotham commented that Bromsgrove District Council seemed to be doing all it could in working with local housing partners, including Bromsgrove District Housing Trust (BDHT), in ensuring that damp and mould was not a significant issue for tenants living in rented accommodation. It was noted that this was a difficult area to control in the private sector and that some tenants in private sector housing were often reluctant to report damp and mould issues due to potential repercussions from the landlord in respect of their tenancy.
Members were advised that there were good resources available for residents on the Council’s website regarding the prevention of damp and mould in homes. It was also highlighted that most mould and damp issues were not as a result of rising damp but more likely to be caused from the number of tenants residing in the housing.
The Leader thanked Councillor Hotham for his update and agreed that the number of tenants within a house certainly caused an increase in damp and mould. It was noted that this particularly highlighted the need for larger rental homes within Bromsgrove to prevent this issue in the future. Members commented that although the properties discussed in this report were not the Council’s housing stock, the residents affected were on the Council’s housing waiting list.