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Housing director: We need a culture change at the council

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“We are not very good at responding to complaints and queries.”

That’s the frank judgement of the council’s new director of housing after just a few weeks in his new job.

Quick learner: Croydon’s new housing director, David Padfield

As was exclusively revealed by Inside Croydon more than a month ago, Alison Knight, the director who was hired on £800 per day in May to fix the many problems over damp and mouldy flats in Regina Road, left her job without ever bothering to meet the badly let-down council tenants in South Norwood.

Knight’s replacement, David Padfield, has been much quicker to engage residents, and has voiced further concerns about the cash-strapped council’s approach to and handling of its tenants and housing stock.

The council’s housing improvement board, chaired by Martin Wheatley – again, as first reported by this website – met for the first time this week, at Stanley Halls in South Norwood, where Padmore made it clear he would be expecting a “culture change” in his department.

“Staff are dealing with significant problems with responses to repairs that is generating a lot of complaints from residents and unhappiness,” Padfield said.

Fed up with excuses: Regina Road residents have yet to notice significant change

“We are not very good at responding to complaints and queries, a lot of things that come through is about how defensive staff are when responding to complaints and queries.

“That leads to a very low level of resident satisfaction.

“This is about a culture change…my experience is that staff are defensive.

“If I was a resident getting these emails listing excuses, I wouldn’t be very happy.

“There is quite a deep set change that needs to happen, empowering the staff to solve the problems that are in front of them.”

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