Hi everyone, I hope you’ve all had a great summer.

While we were all living through the hottest recorded UK summer, our Fitton Hill Community Voice met with colleagues from across ForHousing to discuss the issues that matter most to tenants.

Community Voice gives tenants the opportunity to share feedback, ask questions and help influence the services and support available in our neighbourhood. Here are some of the key highlights from our latest meeting.

Helen Wild, Chair of Community Voice and ForHousing tenant

We began the meeting by reflecting on the recent Community Voice networking event, which brought together residents and community organisations from the area.

Members agreed the event was a real success and highlighted the value of creating opportunities for people to connect, share ideas and work together. There was strong support for developing a larger community networking event in the future to encourage even more local involvement.

We also welcomed Johnny Cammish to his new role as Community Development Officer for Fitton Hill.

A key point of conversation was communication and making sure tenants feel informed and connected to the services available to them.

ForHousing colleagues shared a presentation about the Housing Officer Service following feedback from tenants who were unclear about the role of Housing Officers, how local teams work and the best way to get in touch.

The session explained the support Housing Officers provide, the work that often happens behind the scenes, and why we now operate as neighbourhood teams to provide a more consistent service. Members also heard why the Customer Connect Hub is the first point of contact, helping ensure enquiries are logged, tracked and directed to the right team quickly.

We also discussed the importance of ensuring Fitton Hill is well represented in communications, including social media, newsletters and website content. Community Voice highlighted the value of sharing more local stories, achievements and photographs that reflect the people and places that make Fitton Hill unique.

This work will continue as part of ongoing improvements to local communications.

To keep up to date with all social media updates for Fitton Hill, make sure you’re following the Facebook page! – (18) Facebook

Members discussed several community issues that tenants and residents have raised, including anti-social behaviour, neighbourhood safety and maintenance concerns.

We had a good conversation about feeling confident when reporting concerns and knowing that issues raised will be taken seriously.

Community Voice also discussed fencing repairs, planned maintenance works and the quality of some recent improvement projects. These conversations help ensure that resident feedback continues to shape local services and future improvements.

We also requested a future update on the proposed housing development near the former school site, which is an area of interest for many residents.

The group received an update on ForHousing’s latest performance information.

Members reviewed how services are performing and discussed some of the challenges and opportunities for improvement across different areas of the business.

Community Voice continues to play an important role in reviewing performance, asking questions and ensuring the tenant perspective remains at the centre of service improvement.

Learn more about how ForHousing are performing here – How we are performing – ForHousing

We heard an update on community funding and investment opportunities available to local groups and organisations.

Members discussed the positive impact that community funding continues to have in supporting activities, projects and events that benefit local residents.

There was also a discussion about community funding and how tenants could have more opportunities in the future to help decide how money is spent on local projects and improvements.

Community Voice agreed it would be useful to hear directly from local groups that have had support, helping members see the difference these projects are making across Fitton Hill. Feedback on the impact of funded projects is already gathered annually, and ForHousing colleagues are exploring the best way to share this with members.

Some important topics will return to future meetings, including updates from Greater Manchester Police, progress at St Martin’s Play Park, neighbourhood communications and the proposed development near the former school site.

Members also highlighted the importance of promoting neighbourhood walkabouts more widely so that more residents can get involved and help identify local issues.

If you’d like to help shape your community, apply for funding, or just find out more, speak to your Community Development Officer.

Thanks again to everyone who came along and shared their thoughts — your voice really does make a difference.