COUNCIL leaders and housing association bosses have heralded the success of an open meeting to air any issues.

Senior representatives from Aster Group fielded questions from members of East Dorset District Council’s scrutiny committee on a range of matters.

Councillors asked the housing association about management taking responsibility for issues, the structure of the organisation and response times to urgent residential repairs.

Aster also took the opportunity to explain the changes that had taken place in recent months and what is expected to be improved in future.

The housing provider reportedly admitted that responses to some issues had not always been as full as they could have been.

Simon Gibson, East Dorset District Council’s portfolio holder for housing, said: “I think it was a good positive meeting.

“It went exactly how it should have done, with councillors on the committee having the opportunity to raise concerns residents had put to them directly with people who are responsible.

“Aster approached it in a positive way. They were quite straight forward with where they needed to improve, explained what they had already done and what they will continue to do.

“The committee meeting was quite an open and honest conversation.”

Organising the meeting was sparked after Wimborne Minster councillor Shane Bartlett questioned the support a resident in his ward received during the winter months.

On delivering improvements after the meeting, Cllr Gibson admitted “proof will be the feedback from residents”.

“This is what the scrutiny committee is for,” he added.

“I was grateful to Aster for coming to the meeting. They were a key part of why it proved to be worthwhile.”

Darren Brazil, regional director at Aster Group , said he felt the meeting went well.

“We discussed a number of issues relating to our repairs service delivery and recent changes to our structure and processes to improve on some of the key elements that led to the concerns raised by councillors,” Mr Brazil said.

“We agreed a number of actions to further improve the communication between ourselves and the councillors.”

The housing association agreed to continue to hold frequent liaison meeting with the council to provide a point of contact for councillors raising housing related matters.

Mr Brazil added: “Our relationship and partnership with the council is a longstanding and strong one, and our continued work together in providing housing to people in Dorset and across our operating areas is, and will remain, at the core of our purpose.”