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The Resident Members Charter
When residents from our Active Residents Network told us the old shareholding offer didn’t give them enough say, we listened and acted. Together, we co-created the Resident Members Charter: a powerful way to make sure your voice truly shapes our services.
After a formal consultation in March 2025, resident shareholders gave their approval at a Special General Meeting in June.
The Charter is our long-term promise to put resident views at the heart of decision-making. And through the Eastlight Community Gateway Circle, we’ll bring people together for activities that boost accountability, transparency, communication and inclusion, so your voice doesn’t just get heard, it drives real change.
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What does this mean for you?
The Charter not only builds trust and creates value and influence through meaningful resident engagement, it also ensures that residents can act as long-term custodians for Eastlight's role in the community.
Specifically, we will:
- Provide opportunities for residents to scrutinise performance and get involved in improving service quality
- Provide opportunities for meaningful two-way dialogue and embedding residents’ views, ensuring that ideas and content are sourced from local communities
- Ensure that diverse needs and preferences are considered when engaging in activities within the Eastlight Community Gateway Circle.
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Launching the Charter
On Tuesday, 23 September 2025, we launched the Resident Members Charter with more than 40 residents in attendance.
During the event, resident members received their ‘Gold Cards’ as formal recognition of their role in shaping Eastlight’s future, which grants them access to a growing programme of involvement opportunities.
The Eastlight Community Gateway Circle explained
Following a series of online and in-person workshops, plus phone calls, the following circle was created by residents. This brings together all activities into one place.
Eastlight resident, Tammy, said: "We created the circle to connect everything together, so that all the really good stuff that happens in different places in Eastlight joins up. We also wanted to improve communication, and this circle reflects something continuous, with no 'us and them'."
Eastlight Resident Members
As an Eastlight resident, you’re invited to become a Resident Member, a simple step that opens the door to making a real impact. You’ll get your own Membership card and regular updates through the Active Residents Network newsletter, filled with chances to share your views, join activities and help shape the future of your community. We’d love to have you on board!
Scrutiny and Service Improvement Activity
Our resident-led scrutiny programme empowers Resident Members to play an active role in shaping our services. Through this initiative, the CIC will identify key areas of the business for closer examination.
Members will have the opportunity to get involved in meaningful activities, such as surveys and workshops, that explore your day-to-day experiences. Your insights will directly influence improvements and help drive real, lasting change.
Charter Steering Group
This passionate group of residents helped design Eastlight’s new offer and are now working side by side with Eastlight staff to bring it to life. Together, they’re making sure the Charter is more than just words by turning it into real, lasting change for our communities.
Active Residents Network
If you’re passionate about your home, your community and making things better, the Active Residents Network is for you. It’s open to anyone who wants to share their ideas and experiences to help shape Eastlight’s services. As a member, you’ll receive regular newsletters packed with opportunities to get involved, give feedback and help drive positive change.
Eastlight Resident Groups
Want to make a real difference in your neighbourhood? Join one of our Eastlight Resident Groups (ERGs) where residents and staff team up to improve local communities through quarterly meetings, estate walkabouts, and dedicated budgets for community projects. Join one of our four groups:
- ERG Mid – Braintree and surrounding villages
- ERG South – Witham and surrounding villages
- ERG North – Halstead and surrounding villages
- ERG Colchester
Community voices
We know many residents want to be a bridge between Eastlight and their communities but often don’t get the information or support they need to play that role confidently. This is especially true in areas where Eastlight owns fewer homes. We’re working to change that, so every voice can be heard and every community can feel connected.
Board and Committees
Our Customer Influence Committee (CIC) puts residents at the heart of Eastlight’s decision-making. Appointed by the Board, the CIC is a part of Eastlight's Governance structure. Together, they use real insight and lived experience to make sure your voice reaches the top and helps shape not just Eastlight, but the wider housing sector. It’s a powerful way to turn your perspective into progress.
Resident communication
You told us you want better communication and we’ve listened. That’s why it’s now a key focus within the Community Gateway Circle, giving you more chances to shape how we connect with you. From the letters you receive to the pages of Shine Magazine, your voice is helping us get it right.
Resident events and consultation
We host exclusive events for Resident Members to hear your views and keep you in the loop. And when big changes are proposed, you’ll be among the first to be consulted, in line with housing regulations. It’s all about making sure your voice helps shape Eastlight’s future, every step of the way.
Want to sign up to an activity? Click here.
- 12th - Steering Group meeting
- 15th - ARN Newsletter
- 15th - Sustainability Strategy Review Survey
- 22nd - Complex Repairs Scrutiny Group Bootcamp - Join our repairs bootcamp between 9.30am and 2.30pm at Eastlight House to share your thoughts and receive £75 for taking part! - Sign up here
- 28th - Shine Magazine Special Edition
- 29th - CIC meeting
- Eastlight Website Review - We're looking for two residents to review Eastlight's website - you'll receive a £25 voucher for your time! Sign up here.
- 6th - The Big Hello Resident Input Session - we're hosting door knocking events in April to get to know you better. Join us for this session to help us shape how these events will look.
- 10th - ERG South Community Walkabout
- 12th - ARN Newsletter
- 12th - Resident Communications Committee Relaunch - join the committee and influence how we share information with you.
- 24th - CV Writing Skills for Residents - learn how to boost your employability in this workshop with Eastlight's People Team - Sign up directly here
- 25th – Colchester ERG Walkabout (1.30pm – 2.30pm) - here's your chance to walk around the Greenstead estate, spot areas for improvement and share fun ideas to bring the space to life.
- 4 Mar - Colchester ERG meeting in Greenstead Community Centre - 6-7pm
- 30 March - Steering Group Meeting
- April 2026 - The Big Hello - Four door-knocking events
- Sept 2026 - Design Guide Workshop
- Policy reviews
- Staff recruitment
- Purple Standard - Disability Inclusion Framework
Firstly, we'd like to say a big thank you to every single resident who has joined one of our workshops, completed an online survey, or shared their feedback with us throughout 2025. Your thoughts and ideas have shaped a variety of things at Eastlight from our brand-new My Eastlight portal and strategies and policies, to how we deliver kitchen replacements in your home. We really appreciate your time and effort in helping us to deliver better services to Eastlight residents and communities.
Here's some key outcomes of how your input made a difference in 2025:
- Shaping My Eastlight Portal: Your feedback was incredibly valuable in helping us shape our new portal and app. From pointing out ways to make using the portal easier to ensuring accessibility features were prominent, we included many of your suggestions ahead of launching it in December. More opportunities to improve the portal to come!
- Joining our new Scrutiny Review Group and influenced how we communicate and approach service charges with residents
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Income Letters Workshop: After reviewing the letters sent out by Eastlight's Income Team, your feedback has ensured we always use a supportive tone, aligning how we communicate with our Think Customer approach. Because of your input, these letters now better reflect our commitment to empathy and understanding.
- Contents Insurance Workshop: During the session you provided feedback on the content insurance offer and reminded us of the importance of making sure residents who aren't online are still able to find out about the offer.
- Kitchen Workshop: Your thoughtful suggestions, like adding more drawer space, improving cupboard accessibility and offering flexible handle options helped to shape a more inclusive and practical kitchen design.
- Estate Management Policy Review: You challenged us on some things included in the policy which we have since changed. Many of you raised concerns about gutter cleaning and as a result, gutter clearance has now been removed from the list of resident responsibilities. From now on, this will be managed by Eastlight where it applies to communal areas.
- Aids & Adaptations Policy Review: Ensuring the policy was fair, transparent and accessible, your insights proved invaluable in keeping the policy clear and reasonable. Highlighting areas where the wording and key phrases could be refined for better clarity. We took these recommendations on board and the updated policy has already played a key role in guiding decision-making and shaping recent process improvements.
- Value for Money Strategy Review: You told us the service you value the most are repairs to your home, and that we should focus most on providing better value for money with our repairs service. You also told us that affordability was your top priority, closely followed by service quality - these are all things we've taken on board.
- Damp and Mould Policy Workshop: We recognise what a significant issue damp and mould is for many, and your feedback has helped shape the updated policy which now includes:
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Explaining that we will provide additional support and priority where customers are at increased risk of damp and mould due to “health, age or other individual concerns”
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Confirming that we use data to contact residents who may find it challenging to report cases of damp and mould – for example if their first language is not English.
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Referring to changes in regulation affecting Eastlight and the wider housing sector, including the proposed Awaab’s Law.
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Want to get involved and have your say? Sign up to an activity here
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Scrutiny outcomes: Service Charges
Residents recently took part in a review of how Eastlight manages service charges, aiming to make sure charges are fair, consistent and transparent.
The review took place over three workshops, where residents worked with staff to explore:
- How caps on charges work and their impact
- What types of costs are included
- How charges are shared fairly
Residents agreed a set of recommendations and actions with Eastlight at the final session. These will now be tracked by the Customer Influence Committee to ensure accountability.
