The Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel met to discuss the Regulator of Social Housing inspection, decommissioning of Cheshire House and Shropshire House, and the Big Door Knock initiative. The panel was also scheduled to note the Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel Work Programme 2025/26 and future meeting dates.

Regulator of Social Housing Inspection

Neil Wightman, Director of Housing Services (Residents), was scheduled to present a report on the Regulator of Social Housing's (RSH) inspection. The report stated that in July 2025, Enfield Council received a C1 grading from the RSH, which is the highest possible grade, demonstrating full compliance with consumer standards¹. The report pack stated that Enfield Council is one of only four local authorities in England and Wales to have been awarded the top grade, and the first to receive it in 2025-2026. The only other London local authority to receive a C1 is the City of Westminster.

The presentation accompanying the report described Enfield Council Housing's journey since the formation of the Housing and Regeneration Department in 2019 and the insourcing of repairs in 2020, to investment in senior leadership and developing innovative ways of delivering services.

The presentation also outlined key challenges, including extreme housing demand pressures and developing workforce skills. It detailed ambitions such as becoming the best landlord in London by 2027 and remaining a C1 landlord, managing mixed tenure estates, and using technology to enhance living experience and safety in buildings. Ongoing developments include raising tenant satisfaction, introducing AI technology to improve the repairs service, and developing an asset management strategy.

The report pack stated that resident satisfaction has increased due to good service delivery, with Enfield generally having 10% better satisfaction ratings than the average for all London Local Authorities.

Decommissioning of Cheshire House and Shropshire House

Sarah Lovell, Regeneration Programme Director, was scheduled to present a report providing an update on the decommissioning and regeneration of Cheshire House and Shropshire House, including the status of rehousing cases, compulsory purchase, ongoing safety measures, resident engagement, and next steps.

The report stated that on 19 April 2023, the Cabinet made the decision to rehouse all existing secure tenants and acquire all leasehold properties in Cheshire and Shropshire Houses because of the Large Panel System (LPS) form of construction of the blocks, making them structurally unsound, and the high cost of extensive repair works required to make the homes in the blocks decent and safe for long-term occupation.

The report pack stated that, to date, the council has successfully rehoused 162 secure council tenancies in the blocks, leaving only two council tenancies remaining. The council has also acquired 35 of the 42 privately owned leasehold properties in the blocks, leaving seven yet to be acquired; four in Cheshire House (all occupied) and three in Shropshire House, of which two are occupied and three are vacant.

The report noted that on 10 September 2025, the Cabinet approved the use of the council's Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO) powers, and officers are finalising the CPO documents for submission to the Secretary of State by the end of October 2025.

According to the report, a series of safety measures has been put in place to ensure the safety of the blocks through this decommissioning process. This included removing piped gas supply from the blocks and putting in new electrical supply, allowing electric boilers to be provided to all properties, removing asbestos, and fitting CCTV and onsite security to ensure banned materials – such as gas canisters – could not be taken into the buildings.

The report also stated that the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has called in both Shropshire House and Cheshire House Building Safety Case Reports as part of their timetable to assess the safety of residential high-rise blocks.

The report noted the council's intention to demolish the blocks and replace them with good-quality homes, with a high-level feasibility assessment showing that approximately 267 new homes could be developed on the site.

The Big Door Knock

Neil Wightman, Director of Housing Services (Residents), was also scheduled to present a report providing an overview and analysis of the Big Door Knock undertaken in June 2025. The report outlined the objectives, methodology, and key findings from this large-scale resident engagement outreach exercise, which involved direct contact with residents at 7,000 households across the borough.

The initiative aimed to strengthen the council's understanding of resident priorities, concerns, and experiences in relation to housing, neighbourhood services, and wider regeneration efforts.

Between 9 and 27 June 2025, nearly 100 frontline officers, along with Councillor Ergin Erbil, Leader of the Council, Councillor Ayten Guzel, Cabinet Member for Housing, local ward councillors, the chief executive, and senior housing officers, visited 720 housing blocks and knocked on over 7,000 doors.

According to the report, all officers used Microsoft Forms on the doorstep to capture resident responses in real-time. For households where residents were not available, 'sorry we missed you' cards were left, enabling residents to provide their feedback remotely. This approach facilitated the collection of 1,097 completed responses, capturing a wide range of information including contact details, preferred communication methods, languages spoken, and key resident needs.

The feedback collected provided key data on the resident and valuable insight into resident satisfaction, including:

• 720 new or updated email addresses
• 963 new or updated mobile telephone numbers
• 1,097 preferred contact methods (letter, phone, email, WhatsApp, text)
• 66 different preferred languages, with English, Turkish, and Somali as the most common
• 623 households identifying as having a disability, vulnerability, or mobility need
• 391 households expressing interest in joining the E500 resident engagement group

The report stated that the overall response to the Big Door Knock was very positive, with residents overwhelmingly grateful to officers for the initiative.

The report also provided an update on the tenancy audit programme, a five-year initiative to undertake 100% audits across all tenancies, and high rise residential Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs)². The report stated that the Big Door Knock will become a regular fixture in the council's annual engagement calendar, with the next programme scheduled to take place in early 2026.

Work Programme 2025/26

The panel was scheduled to note the Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel Work Programme 2025/26. The work programme included updates on:

• Temporary Accommodation and Homelessness
• Housing Delivery Programme
• Training and Development of Neighbourhood Services
• Local Plan Update
• Planning Tech Team, digital ways of working and impacts on customers
• Joyce & Snells Update
• Licencing Schemes
• Reardon Court Update