Help us improve your services - Customer Involvement Groups
Contents
At CBH, we want to move on from just involving customers in what we do, to making sure you have real influence in what we do and what happens in your community.
We need to understand more about what is important to you so we can work together to improve our services. You can tell us how you want to be involved by answering these questions and/or making your own comments.
Annual General Meeting
This annual meeting is a chance to review all services received from the past year.
You can raise any issues directly with our Board and senior housing colleagues.
60 minutes yearly
Face to Face Meeting
If you would like to find out more about attending the Annual General Meeting, please contact Resident Engagement at resident.engagement@cbhomes.org.uk.
Complaints Focus Group
We are seeking dedicated individuals to join our Complaints Panel. This is a valuable opportunity to contribute to the development and improvement of our services by providing direct feedback on your experiences with our complaints process.
Why Join the Complaints Panel?
Being part of the Complaints Panel offers several meaningful benefits:
- You Care About People: Make a positive impact on the community by ensuring everyone’s voice is heard.
- You Are Concerned About Something: Address specific issues that matter to you and others.
- You Have a Lived Experience or Skill to Share: Bring your unique perspective and expertise to the table.
- You Want to Make New Connections and Friendships: Meet and collaborate with like-minded individuals.
- You Want to Improve Our Complaints Service: Help us enhance the way we handle and resolve complaints.
- You Want to Review Policy and Co-Create Our Customer Complaints Annual Report: Play a crucial role in shaping our policies and contributing to the annual report.
120 minutes every 3 months
If you’re interested in joining the Complaints Panel, please complete the the option to join form. We would love to hear more about your experiences and how you can contribute to improving our services.
Resident Voice
you’re passionate about the customer voice being heard and want the opportunity to make a real difference in how we shape our services, this is for you, the panel is made up of customers, resident board members and CBH colleagues to ensure that we consider the customer in all our decision making.
Less than 120 mins every other month
Face to Face Meeting (Hybrid)
Teams
Find out more about Resident Voice or to register an interest in joining the panel, please complete the form below or contact Customer Involvement at resident.engagement@cbhomes.org.uk.
Tenant Inspectors
Face to Face Meeting
Dependant on Inspections throughout the year
Sheltered Residents Panel
Have your say – help shape our services
If you live in a sheltered community and would like to have your say on how services are provided, the Sheltered Residents Panel is for you.
The panel supports a person‑centred approach to service delivery and helps sheltered communities to thrive independently. It gives residents the opportunity to influence services, share views at the start of key projects, and help shape the future of sheltered housing.
What does the panel do?
The Sheltered Residents Panel helps us to:
- Shape and improve sheltered housing services
- Hear residents’ views early in key projects
- Understand the needs of changing sheltered communities
- Enable and empower residents to influence decisions
The panel is open to all sheltered tenants and provides a relaxed, informal space to share ideas, suggestions and feedback.
Meetings
- Every 3 months
- 2‑hour meetings (10:30am–12:30pm)
- Light lunch provided after each meeting
- Face‑to‑face meetings
- Transport provided if needed
Residents can attend as many or as few meetings as they wish. The only requirement is that panel members let us know in advance if they are able to attend.
2026 Meeting Dates
- Thursday 18 June 2026
Location to be confirmed | 10:30am–12:30pm (lunch to follow) - Thursday 1st October 2026
Location to be confirmed | 10:30am–12:30pm (lunch to follow) - Thursday 3 December 2026
Location to be confirmed | 10:30am–12:30pm (lunch to follow)
Who attends?
- Members of the Older Persons Management Team
- Sheltered tenants who are panel members
Although the panel plans to meet four times each year, additional meetings may be arranged if needed. Any extra meetings will be communicated to members as early as possible.
Chair of the Panel
The panel is currently chaired by the Housing Manager for Older Persons Services.
Panel members are empowered to choose an alternative Chair if they wish.
Support for the Panel
- All CBH officers will support the Sheltered Residents Panel when required
- Members of the Directors’ Management Team can attend meetings upon request.
A welcoming space to share your views
We understand that speaking at formal meetings can feel daunting.
The Sheltered Residents Panel offers a friendly, informal setting where you are welcome to listen, contribute, and share your views at your own pace.
Interested in joining?
Open to all sheltered tenants.
To find out more or register your interest, please complete the form below or contact Customer Involvement: resident.engagement@cbhomes.org.uk
The Reading Panel
Getting involved with our scrutiny opportunities could be for you if you are interested in reviewing the printed material that CBH produces, e.g. brochures, leaflets or annual report. All comments from our Reading Panel are considered before being passed to the Board for approval.
30 minutes monthly
In your home
If you would like to find out more about joining the Reading Panel, please complete the form below or contact Resident Engagement at resident.engagement@cbhomes.org.uk.
QAA: Quality Assurance Advisors
Do you live in a block of flats or sheltered scheme?
If you want to help, make you shared accommodation a better place to be, then this is the role for you.
You will monitor maintenance and cleaning within your block and surrounding grounds by completing our inspection form. You can also raise and discuss issues or concerns you have at our 3 monthly face to face meeting.
45 minutes every 3 months
Face to Face Meeting, Completion of Inspection Form
If you would like to find out more about becoming a QAA, please complete the form below or contact Resident Engagement at resident.engagement@cbhomes.org.uk.
Meeting Dates:
Leaseholder Focus Group
If you are a leaseholder and want to shape and improve and scrutinise our Leaseholder services, this is the group for you. Receive information on Leaseholder performance and also get a chance to influence our Service Contractual awards by being part of the Tender Evaluation Panel.
60 minutes every 3 months
Face to Face Meeting
Asset Services Customer Engagement Group
- Share your experiences with building safety works, home improvements, and repairs.
- Provide feedback on service quality and effectiveness.
- Contribute ideas, raise concerns, and suggest improvements for future services.
- Stay informed about upcoming projects and policy changes.
120 Minutes every 3 months
Next meeting: Wednesday 11th March 2026 – 6pm – 7.45pm at Rowan House, 33 Sheepen Road, CO3 3WG
What does being involved mean?
- You receive an initial one to one meeting to introduce you to the service where you will be provided with an information pack and contact details.
- You will be invited to regular quarterly meetings, where you will meet the Colchester Borough Homes staff and service providers and you will have opportunity to celebrate the successes you have achieved.
- You will have opportunities to attend free training and development courses
- We will use your involvement to shape the services we deliver and feed back on any decisions or changes.
- Refreshments whilst attending meetings and events plus expenses including travel and childcare will be paid.
Our commitments aim to represent and amplify customer voices, increasing satisfaction by listening to and acting on customers views. Through Insight, Influence, and Impact we will deliver what customers have prioritised in the shaping of these commitments
TPAS, England’s leading tenant engagement experts
TPAS – become a free member
Tpas membership enables you to access our expertise, develop key principles, best practice and continuous improvement ensuring you and your organisation can be at the forefront of engagement activities.
Tenant – individual and tenant group
- Receive invites to our virtual and in person round-tables, focus groups and workshops
- Participate in live free webinars and access pre-recorded member webinars
- Opportunities and routes to influence national policy
- Access to our exclusive member Resource hub for all your engagement needs
- Newsletter to keep up to date with engagement news
- Advice on engagement issues via our enquiry service
- Attend our free virtual and in person member only events throughout the year
- Access to our tenant only online networking group to create engagement conversations across England
- Opportunities to share your experiences and opinions
- Chance to gain recognition and share what you are doing
- Opportunities to join our Board of Directors
- Voting rights at our Annual General Meeting
The Board
The CBH Board has the strategic responsibility for the whole organisation and supports the CEO in the decision-making process. The Board membership includes CBH Customers, to ensure the wider customer base are represented and views considered. We have a live recruitment process looking to identify and support new resident board members. The Board Meetings and AGM is partially open to the public to observe, details of which can be shared.Being a Board member gives you the opportunity to have direct involvement in the way we deliver services.
We are keen for the Board to reflect the diverse nature of our community, and we welcome applications from individuals whatever their background. Our Board consists of:
- Three Council Board Members (usually appointed by the Council at the annual meeting in May/June)
- Three Independent Board Members (appointed for three-year terms following an open recruitment process)
- Three Tenant Board Members* (appointed for three-year terms following an open recruitment process, which may involve an election)
- The Chief Executive of Colchester Borough Homes
*One Tenant Board Member may be a Leaseholder, providing they live in the property they lease from the Council.
If you would like to find out more about joining the Board, or to register your interest in the next round of recruitment, please contact Resident Engagement at resident.engagement@cbhomes.org.uk.
Good Neighbour Awards
To enter, please complete the relevant form on this page. If you would like an entry form posted to you instead, please email Resident Engagement at resident.engagement@cbhomes.org.uk
