Conversations that count: NPH’s ‘helpful’ Engagement Café

This week we hosted another successful Engagement Café, our most popular resident engagement event, and once again, it proved to be a valuable opportunity for open and honest conversations between residents and colleagues from both NPH and West Northamptonshire Council.

Held at a new venue, The Life Centre in Spring Boroughs, the café welcomed a strong turnout of residents keen to share their experiences, ask questions, and raise any concerns. NPH CEO Steve Feast, Director of Customers Nicky McKenzie and Councillor Charlie Hastie, WNC’s portfolio holder for Housing, were on hand to meet residents over a cup of tea. It was Cllr Hastie’s first time attending an Engagement Café in his new role.

“It’s always uplifting to see residents engaging so openly with our teams,” said Nicky McKenzie. “These cafés give us a real sense of what matters to our communities and it’s great to see how feedback from previous events has already led to positive changes for our residents.”

We were also pleased to be joined by members of the NPH Board, the Service Quality Committee, and Northampton Town Councillor Ifeoluwa Adeniran, all of whom took time to listen to residents and support the event.

The Engagement Café takes place quarterly and continues to receive positive feedback from attendees. One resident, Roger, told us: “It’s been helpful today, I’ve spoken to Dan the Housing Officer. He was very helpful and has taken my queries away. He’s promised to text me an update tomorrow which I’m grateful for.”

Another resident, Peter, shared how the cafés have made a real difference to him: “I came along to the last engagement café at the Grosvenor Centre, it was really useful and I spoke to five different departments. As a result of coming to that café, they’ve since sorted me out an accessible bathroom and a new kitchen floor. I’ve come along to the café again today to speak to the Assets team and Support team.”

The next Engagement Café will again take place at the Life Centre, Spring Boroughs, on February 5th between 12pm and 2pm. Remember there’s no need to book – we look forward to seeing you there!