Council decision to award a £6.7m Total Assets Solution Partner contract to Savills called in by Green Councillors.
As expected, the call-in was rejected by Lambeth, despite the compelling case put together by the green group with other community groups. The ‘call-in’ argued that the award would seriously weaken Lambeth Council’s ability to tackle the climate emergency, and further deepen the negative influence that Savills has over Lambeth’s housing stock.
This is not the first time Lambeth Council has awarded a contract to Savills, the real estate and development consultancy company has been appointed to deliver services related to the controversial estate demolition schemes.
Most notably, the company led controversial consultations early in 2020 that proposed the deeply unpopular demolition of buildings on Cressingham Gardens and Central Hill, which were strongly opposed by the communities who live there.
There are worries that the award represents a sign off by Lambeth Council for further extensive demolitions.
Cllr Pete Elliott said, “In recent years Savills have demonstrated that their agenda is not aligned with that of the residents of Lambeth. Residents want to see sustainability in their built environment, transparency in the council’s practises and want to be able to believe that those organisations that are being funded by the taxpayer have the taxpayers’ interests at heart.
“This work should be laying the foundations of a critical long term programme of work to ensure our housing stock is fit for 2050 and beyond. It is irrational that the work should be outsourced when we will need the skills, knowledge and expertise within the council. £6.7m could be far better used to recruit an in-house team to work alongside the housing and sustainability teams.”