Here’s how you’ve been getting involved:
- 830 customers have said they want to be involved.
- We aim to have 11 members in our Challenge Group. (As of the end of March 2026, we had 9 members).
- 130 customers are involved at a medium level, such as being a Mystery Customer, participating in Scrutiny, our Damp and Mould Customer Panel, the Grounds Maintenance Residents Group, our Leaseholder Forum, and the Asset Management Monitoring Group.
- 689 customers are involved at a low level, like being part of the Commentator Panel and attending ‘hot topic’ meetings.
Challenge Group
This year, we have held:High level customer engagement
Challenge Group met 11 times – this excludes attending Scrutiny Panels and team building events. Our Challenge Group meet every five weeks for 3 hours.
The Group:
- 100% of meetings took place.
- 8 policies were checked and recommended for approval.
- 4 quarters of performance information were scrutinised.
- 4 quarters of Tenant Satisfaction information were monitored.
- 2 self-assessments were reviewed and approved.
- 2 Scrutiny reviews were undertaken.
- 3 strategies were checked and approved.
- Sat on Board interview panels.
- The Group also attended:
- Other customer panels including Scrutiny Panels.
- Board Away Day.
- Stock tour with Board.
- Regular Board meetings.
- Training: Scrutiny, Chair, Recruitment and regulatory standards.
- TPAS conference in Coventry.
- Came along to our events such as Christmas and Easter gift drops.
(This does not include regular updates on services which is discussed at every meeting).
Some examples of how our Challenge Group has influenced change at the Trust this year:
Provided feedback and suggestions on our Customer Voice and Experience Strategy:
How they helped: Challenge Group provided valuable feedback that helped shape our Strategy. As a result, the wording was updated to make customer complaint visits clearly optional and based on the customer’s preference. The group also suggested replacing the term “human” communication with “personal” communication to better reflect the intended approach.
In addition, they recommended encouraging customers to tell us about any reasonable adjustments they need, rather than presenting a fixed list of options, helping to create a more flexible and customer-led experience.
Answering Customer questions:
How they helped: Following a submission through the ‘Ask Your Challenge Group’ process, members reviewed and discussed how the arrears process applies when a customer is in hospital, identifying a lack of clarity in this area.
Their feedback helped inform improvements, resulting in updates to both our website and Income Policy to provide clearer guidance and support for customers in these circumstances.
Medium level customer involvement
Customers involved at a medium level typically dedicate 1 – 2 hours to us every 3 months.
- Grounds Maintenance Group met every quarter for 2 hours:
- Reviewed and recommended our Estates Policy for approval.
- Provided us with honest and constructive feedback on our services.
- Heard the latest updates on Grounds Maintenance from our Estates Manager.
- Completed monthly feedback surveys on their green spaces.
- Damp & Mould Customer Panel met every quarter for 90 minutes:
- Discussed Awaab’s Law and how we are adapting to it.
- Reviewed our Damp & Mould Policy.
- Asset Management Monitoring Group met twice for 2 hours:
- Reviewed our Asset Management and Environmental Strategy Action Plan.
- Reviewed our Investment Programme for 2026-2027.
- Range & Pennine Residents Forum (our high-rise blocks) takes place at Green in the Corner every quarter.
- We took a break from Mystery Customer towards the end of 2025 due to a low response rate. We’ve since added in website questions so customers can take part without having to pick up the phone!
- We held lots of events and meetings right across our communities' discussing things like parking, Grounds Maintenance, repairs and much more.
- We held residents meeting at:
- Lyme Green Settlement, Macclesfield.
- Green in the Corner Cafe, Hurdsfield.
- Weekly coffee mornings across our over 55s accommodation.
- Cavalry Church, Macclesfield.
- Bollington Community Centre, Bollington.
Low level customer involvement
Low level involvement sees customers getting involved from the comfort of their own home or coming along to meetings that interest them most. We call this group of customers our ‘Commentator Panel’. At this level, you can dedicate as much or as little of your time as you'd like, such as completing online surveys or making a quick Mystery Customer phone call.
The Commentator Panel gave us feedback on:
- Our Unacceptable Behaviour Policy
- Our Transfer Policy
- Our Leasehold Management Policy (Leaseholders only)
- Our Estates Policy
- Our Health & Safety Strategy
The Trust is a member of Tpas – the Tenant Engagement Experts.This means our customers can access their 'Members Only' services completely free.
Who are TPAS?
- Tpas are the country’s leading national tenant involvement organisation.
- They are dedicated to improving tenant engagement standards across the country. They promote, support and champion tenant involvement in social housing across England.
- They’re all about empowering tenant voices.
What’s included in the membership...
- Access to training.
- Unlimited attendance at free regional events.
- Magazines.
- Briefings as well as a telephone and information service.
Ready to join us?
Have your say on our services and influence decision-making across the Trust
There are lots of different ways to get involved – we’re making it easier for you to tell us how we are doing and how we can improve.