First Choice Homes Oldham customers invited to join first of its kind ‘Climate Jury’

First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO) customers are being invited to join a tenants’ ‘Climate Jury’ – the first of its kind – to help tackle climate change in their homes and neighbourhoods.

The Social Housing Tenants’ Climate Jury will be made up of 30 tenants from FCHO and four other northern housing associations: Karbon Homes, Salix Homes, Thirteen Group and Yorkshire Housing. 

Together, jury members will consider how tenants, social landlords and others can work together to tackle climate change.

The project is being led by the Northern Housing Consortium, which represents the views of housing organisations in the North of England.

In particular, the jury will explore tenants’ views on how work to make their homes more energy efficient should be undertaken.

It is important tenants are involved in how homes can be made more sustainable as part of the sector’s contribution to fighting climate change, and retrofitting existing homes will form part of this.

Retrofitting homes could involve making a home easier and cheaper to heat with extra insulation or upgrading a heating system in order to make homes more energy efficient.  

Steve Mather, FCHO’s Director of Operations and Assets, said: “The housing sector has an important role to play in tackling climate change and we’re working hard to cut the carbon footprint of our homes and our business and to provide customers with high quality, energy efficient, safe places to live.

“Engaging with our customers and listening to their views is very important to us and we’re proud to be part of this pioneering Social Housing Tenants’ Climate Jury.

"It will give people who live in FCHO homes the opportunity to share their views on what they want to see us do to tackle climate change.

"Their ideas and opinions will influence our programmes to make sure our existing and new homes and our wider neighbourhoods are sustainable in the long-term.”

The Social Housing Tenants’ Climate Jury is being facilitated and run by Shared Future, one of the UK’s leading experts in organising citizens’ juries.

First Choice Homes Oldham has sent letters to 1,500 customers inviting them or members of their household aged 16 years+ to register their interest in taking part. 

Of those who register, Shared Future will then select six people from each organisation who reflect the diversity of residents living within social housing, both in terms of demographic make-up and their opinions on climate change. Support will be provided so all those who are selected can do so.

The Tenants’ Jury will meet ten times over the summer for 30 hours’ worth of deliberation.

Members will listen to and question invited expert speakers.

They will discuss issues with each other and will work together, alongside expert facilitators, to develop recommendations as to how tenants, social housing providers and others, can work together to tackle climate change in homes and neighbourhoods. 

Everyone selected to take part and attends all sessions will receive £250 in vouchers as a thank you for their time.

The final report and recommendations of the Social Housing Tenants’ Climate Jury will be launched at the Northern Housing Consortium’s flagship Northern Housing Summit in November.

Visit the Northern Housing Consortium’s website to stay up to date with the jury’s progress, here

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