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Kentish Town District Management Committee - Tuesday, 17th June, 2025 6.30 pm

June 17, 2025 View on council website
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Summary

The Kentish Town District Management Committee (DMC) met on 17 June 2025 to discuss a range of housing and community safety issues. The agenda included updates on anti-social behaviour, tree management, and the council's housing performance. Councillors were also scheduled to discuss the DMC's budget and consider bids from Tenants' and Residents' Associations (TRAs).

Community Safety and Anti-Social Behaviour

The committee was scheduled to receive a report on anti-social behaviour (ASB) in the Kentish Town District from April 2024 to April 2025. The report from the Community Safety Team Leader was expected to include data on ASB reporting trends by ward.

The report broke down the number of reports logged in each ward, and the most frequently reported types of ASB activity. For the Kentish Town DMC area, the most reported ASB activities were drug use and drug dealing.

  • In Highgate, the top ASB activities were drug use and drug dealing.
  • In Camden Square, the top ASB activities were drug use and people noise.
  • In Kentish Town North, the top ASB activities were threatening behaviour and drug use.
  • In Kentish Town South, the top ASB activities were drug use and threatening behaviour.

The report also listed key actions taken to address concerns in each ward, including:

  • Obtaining partial and full closure orders for properties associated with ASB and criminal activity.
  • Issuing warnings to alleged perpetrators.
  • Securing injunctions against individuals responsible for persistent ASB.
  • Obtaining a mandatory possession order against a property due to persistent ASB.
  • Tasking Responsive Security Patrols (RSP), Community Safety Enforcement Officers (CSEOs), and Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNT) to patrol and witness ASB incidents.

The report also detailed a new proactive hotspot strategy, where frontline practitioners from different agencies are deployed to pinpointed ASB hotspots.

The report included information on how to report ASB, and what happens after a report is made.

Housing Performance and Management

Several reports related to housing performance and management were scheduled for discussion.

A report on repairing and letting properties (voids) was to provide an overview of empty homes in Camden, including the number of properties to be re-let and those held for projects like the Chalcots decanting, emergency temporary accommodation, and the retrofit programme1. As of 13 May 2025, there were 459 active voids to be re-let, with an additional 115 properties held for other projects. The Surveying and Lettings teams are co-located in the Holmes Road depot, and a large-scale recruitment drive has been carried out following a recent restructure. The council is reviewing the information provided on the Home Connections website to help applicants decide if they would like to bid on an available property.

A report on Housing and Property Performance was scheduled to update the DMCs on the progress of performance management of services delivered in-house and by contractors. The report outlined the alignment of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with Camden's strategic priorities, regulations, and service standards, and how KPIs are shared across the service. The report also detailed the assessment of contractor performance and procurement processes.

Kentish Town DMC Budget

The committee was scheduled to discuss the Kentish Town DMC budget for 2025/2026. The minor revenue and major works budget for 2025/2026 is £157,770.00. TRAs were encouraged to submit bids as early as possible, and verbal bids cannot be tabled on the day but will be considered at the following meeting.

Two new bids were listed for consideration:

  • Kenbrook House TRA: A bid for the installation of planters in the West Garden of Kenbrook House. Three options were presented, with varying costs depending on the materials used.
  • Kentish Town Sheltered Housing Team: A bid for facilitating activities to improve the health and wellbeing of sheltered housing tenants.

Other Business

  • The committee was scheduled to elect a chair and vice-chairs for the upcoming municipal year.
  • The KT DMC constitution and code of conduct were scheduled to be noted.
  • The committee was scheduled to note the progress of action points arising from the previous meeting, as detailed in the Kentish Town Progress Report.
  • The committee was scheduled to discuss a report on the Residents' Learning Programme, which aims to equip residents with the skills and knowledge to participate in service review and community leadership.
  • The committee was scheduled to discuss the Quarterly Tenant Engagement Report, which shares insights and recommendations from tenant engagement activities.
  • The committee was scheduled to note the Chair's annual report for the 2024/25 municipal year.
  • The committee was scheduled to note the Kentish Town DMC funding analysis.
  • The committee was scheduled to note the minutes of the previous meeting.
  • The committee was scheduled to discuss tree management contractors performance, with reference to the council's tree policy and tree planting strategy.

  1. Retrofitting is the addition of new technology or features to older systems. In this case, it refers to the installation of energy-efficient measures in existing buildings. 

Attendees

Profile image for Councillor Meric Apak
Councillor Meric Apak  Labour •  Kentish Town South
Profile image for Councillor Camron Aref-Adib  Cabinet Member for Finance and Cost of Living
Councillor Camron Aref-Adib Cabinet Member for Finance and Cost of Living  Cabinet Member for Finance and Cost of Living •  Labour •  Highgate
Profile image for Councillor Richard Cotton
Councillor Richard Cotton  Labour •  Camden Town
Profile image for Councillor Sylvia McNamara
Councillor Sylvia McNamara  Chair of the Children, Schools and Families Scrutiny Committee •  Labour and Co-op Party •  Kentish Town North
Profile image for Councillor Andrew Parkinson
Councillor Andrew Parkinson  Conservative •  Frognal
Profile image for Councillor James Slater
Councillor James Slater  Chair of the Audit and Corporate Governance Committee •  Labour and Co-op Party •  Kentish Town North
Profile image for Councillor Anna Wright  Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care
Councillor Anna Wright Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care  Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care •  Labour •  Highgate
Profile image for Councillor Sagal Abdi-Wali  Cabinet Member for Better Homes
Councillor Sagal Abdi-Wali Cabinet Member for Better Homes  Cabinet Member for Better Homes •  Labour •  Camden Square

Topics

No topics have been identified for this meeting yet.

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