Community Engagement Events

Why we introduced Community Engagement Events

At our Annual Tenant’s Conference in January 2024, tenants told us they wanted more informal opportunities to speak directly with senior staff, closer to home and focused on the issues that matter most in their own communities.

In response, we committed to senior staff coming out into local areas to create more accessible, conversation-based events, without the limitations of a formal conference agenda. This commitment led to the introduction of Community Engagement Events.

Year 1: Listening and learning (2024)

Throughout August 2024 we delivered seven Community Engagement Events across different communities. These events were designed to be informal, discussion-led, and focused on local priorities, with senior staff available to listen, answer questions, and take away actions. Following Year 1, we:

• Sought feedback from tenants and staff
• Published an Evaluation Report
• Developed an Action Plan setting out what we would improve and change

The Year 1 findings and action plan were consulted on at the Annual Tenant’s Conference in January 2025, ensuring tenants could influence how engagement developed next.

Year 2: Building on feedback (2025)

As part of the Year 1 Action Plan, we committed to delivering a second year of Community Engagement Events.

Between August and October 2025, we delivered six Community Engagement Events across a range of communities. These events built on what we learned in Year 1, including clearer planning, better communications, and a stronger focus on question-and-answer discussions with senior staff. Following Year 2, we again:

• Gathered tenant and staff feedback
• Completed a second Evaluation Report
• Developed a refreshed Action Plan, summarising learning from both years of Community Engagement Events

This Year 2 Evaluation Report and Action Plan has been developed for tenant publication and sets out recommended next steps for how we engage going forward.

What we heard across two years

Across both years, some consistent themes emerged:

• Tenants value face-to-face access to senior staff, particularly around repairs and service issues
• Shorter, discussion-focused sessions work better than longer presentation-led events
• Clear follow-up and communication after events is essential to building trust
• Accessibility, venue choice, and local delivery matter

At the same time, it became clear that delivering multiple large-scale events each year is resource-intensive and doesn’t always represent the best balance between effort and impact.

What’s changing from Year 3 (2026 onwards)

Based on tenant feedback, staff insight, and two years of learning, we’re changing our approach to community engagement from 2026.

From Year 3, Community Engagement Events will be replaced by:

• Quarterly Senior Staff Surgeries (Q1–Q3)
  Short, local, question-and-answer-only sessions, rotating across communities
• Continued Annual Tenant Conference (Q4, Jan)
  A wider forum to engage on rent increase proposals, in addition to presenting information and seeking feedback on performance, priorities, and future plans.

This approach keeps strong access to senior staff, focuses time where it adds most value, and responds directly to what tenants told us works best.

Our commitment to reporting back

Closing the feedback loop is essential. We are committed to being open about what we hear and what we do as a result.

From 2026, we will:

• Publish a “You Said, We Did” summary on our website after each Senior Staff Surgery
• Publish quarterly updates on progress against our Community Engagement Action Plan

Reports and action plans

Below you can access the full Evaluation Reports and Action Plans for each year:

• Year 1 (2024) – Evaluation Report and Action Plan
• Year 2 (2025) – Evaluation Report and Action Plan