District Management Committee bids
Camden Council, circa 2002, seems to be a place Kafka would find familiar
- they will give you anything you ask for, which means you have to be quite
sure that what you ask for is what you want, particularly when they are giving
out money for the annual District Management Committee (DMC) bids.
Camden Council DMC bids are called 'bids' because the leaseholders are required
to pay their part of whatever money it is that Camden Council gives you for
structural improvements to your building There are two categories - a large
bid, over £10,000 and then a small bid, generally around £1000.
Because lease-holders are expected to pay their share, don't just apply for
a DMC bid every year, just because it's there. Remember, people who are former
Council Tenants who have bought their flats in your building may be living
on a limited income.
Try to start discussing your bids with your TRA as far in advance as possible.
(A notice on your communal notice board in September. asking for suggestions
for the following year is the simplest way to create a list of concerns.)
Try to vote on the bids in your TRA meeting closest to the April deadline
for submitting bids. If possible, the meeting should be quorate, particularly
if you are applying for a major DMC bid. If you have a separate lease-holder's
sub-committee, have them also pass the proposals for any major DMC bids (they
can hold the meeting before or after the TRA meeting, to vote on a single
issue).
If possible, have your Tenants and Residents Association's Annual General
Meeting in early April, which will allow your executive for that year to
see through the whole year of the project.
Some projects are simple (such as painting the communal areas). Communal
Walls are supposed to be painted every six years, although in practice this
has worked out to ten or twelve years (and sometimes seventeen!). Applying
for this is simple. Just write 'DMC bid. We would like our communal walls
painted at [name of building or address] ; it has been ___ number of years
since it was done." That's all you have to write. Send it to the District
Housing Manager, either by post or by e-mail. If everyone is happy with the
colour of the walls or the paint finish, fine. If not, ask how to set up
a ballot within your building to choose a colour scheme (this should be done
as soon as you decide you want the building repainted, as it is a lengthy
process, which takes at least three months).
There are other grants available, other than DMC bids. For instance, if you
want to renew your garden area or courtyard, you may want to apply for Community
Chest grant instead (contact Groundwork to ask for the next deadline) You
can be given up to £5,000 in grants to help make your garden a green,
communal area. If it has previously been derelict, the growing plants will
also help to muffle noise.
If you have other major DMC bids projects in mind (renewing the flooring,
renewing the lift, etc) try to identify what is needed in your building and
then do at least a year's research on the project before you submit your
bid.
Take into account things like Health & Safety issues, Structural damage
issues, Historical Conservation, making areas accessible for the visually
disabled, children, green issues, noise problems, and aiding the elderly
when preparing your list. For instance, if the asphalt is breaking up in
your Courtyard, don't automatically ask to have it asphalted over again.
This will increase your noise problems in any flats facing that area, because
noise is amplified by hard surfaces. Also, do some research into non-slip
tiles or surfaces, for the pathways, proper handrails for stairs and the
feasibility of disabled ramps. If the Main Entrance Flooring need to be renewed,
consider low-maintenance sound-proofing and non-slip tiles (or marmoleum).
A Council flat is often for life, so the wheel-chair accessibility or noise
control solutions that you arrange now may be for your own benefit in the
future.
Schedule: The District Housing Manager will ask you to submit your bids by
the beginning of April. The meeting to decide which bids will be funded takes
place in June or July (you will be informed) the budget approval is in September,
projects should be finished by the end of March, although they may, with
the District Housing Manager's permission, run over.
The June DMC bids meeting is usually with the District Housing Manager, the
Chief Engineer, a Chair, and a representative (or two) from each of the TRA's
who are submitting bids. As of June 2002, we agreed that any bids which are
not taken up by the building will be shared out amongst the other buildings
at the meeting who take up their bids. This is important; if the money is
not used by the end of the financial year (March) it will be lost to everyone.
The Council members have their own order of priority with which they have
placed the bids. Don't be afraid to discuss this and disagree with them.
The things to consider are: Health & Safety, Structural Damage, Historical
Conservation, Acute Problems (including noise), Chronic Problems (including
noise), green Issues, Youth and Culture Community Projects. If you put your
own building's concerns aside, for the moment, and help to create the list
of building works in order of the greater good, you will get an honest list
of things that need to be done. The first stage of the meeing is to put the
bids in order of priority, the second stage is to adjust the amount of money
being asked for in the bid. Try to be realistic. If you think your bid is
too high, or that you can get funding from other places, cut the amount of
money you estimated for the project.
The third stage in the meeting is to consider the small DMC bids. The Chair
may just wave all small DMC bids through, without discussion, assuring you
that if you have changes, it doesn't matter, you can change whatever you
like, and the DHM will approve. This isn't strictly true. If you have any
changes to make to your small DMC bid, let the DHM know before the meeting.
Bring two copies of those changes in writing, and get the District Housing
Manager to sign approval of those changes. Leave a copy with the District
Housing Manager when you leave the meeting (this will save you a lot of grief
later on).
Do not change your bid, once you have submitted it to the June meeting for
approval unless it is an emergency.
HOW
TO MAKE YOUR BUILDING A COMMUNITY |