Merton Council is considering a Clarion Housing ambassador scheme for estates that lack resident associations. The Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel discussed the proposal at its meeting on 16 September 2025, following a recommendation from a prior meeting in March.
The ambassador scheme aims to empower residents to report anti-social behaviour, support neighbours with casework, and contribute ideas for spending the Large Estates Allocation Fund (LEAF). The scheme will be implemented in estates where resident associations are not already established.
The panel reviewed the recommendation to 'Call on Clarion to introduce a formal ambassador scheme for estates which do not have resident associations' during their meeting in March, according to the Public Reports Pack.
Councillor Andrew Judge, Cabinet Member for Housing and Sustainable Development, attended the committee to ask for the panel's view on how this scheme would work. Residents can put themselves forward for the scheme, as they already can for the community inspector scheme (whereby residents are able to directly report communal repair issues). The ambassador scheme would build upon this role to encompass reporting anti-social behaviour, supporting neighbours with casework issues and contributing suggestions to how the Large Estates Allocation Fund (LEAF) could be spent. Neighbourhood wardens are also supporting casework of the ASB Officers within a multi-agency model.
