The Lambeth Green party and Green councillors are calling for an independent investigation of Lambeth Council’s disastrous flagship Homes for Lambeth, after it was announced last week that the company is being brought in house.
After years of sustained pressure from the Green Party and local residents, the Kerslake Review into Lambeth’s affordable housing found that the delivery under HfL was ‘one of the lowest performing boroughs in London,’ [1] citing ‘the ambiguity in the original brief, unclear governance and very poor working relationships’ as major contributors to HfL’s failings [2].
The review highlighted uniformly negative resident satisfaction with HfL’s delivery, and slammed both HfL and Lambeth’s ‘inconsistent approaches, poor communications, delays, lack of consideration, and confusion of responsibilities.’ [3] The council has since accepted Lord Kerslake’s recommendation to bring HfL in house, something the Green councillors have been pushing the council on for several years.
The Green Party councillors are calling on the council to fill the empty homes on regeneration estates with families, provide those in Temporary Accommodation on the demolition estates with secure tenures if they want them, and conduct an independent investigation into the failings of HfL.
Cllr Nicole Griffiths (Streatham St. Leonard’s) said:
“Alongside residents from across the estates earmarked for demolition under the Homes for Lambeth Scheme we have been calling for a halt to schemes that destroy people’s homes and communities. There are over three thousand families in temporary accommodation, at huge emotional cost to those involved and financial cost to the council’s budget.
We have been calling for a Housing Strategy for the past few years that would deliver council homes at council rent with secure tenancies. The council needs to listen to residents and do everything in its power to deliver the homes our families need and want urgently.
The council need to meet the needs of residents to live in warm secure housing, truly affordable housing by retrofitting and refurbishing homes on our estates to the highest energy efficiency standards” .
Housing activist and ex Lambeth Green Councillor Pete Elliott says:
“The findings in the review vindicate the Green Party’s steadfast scrutiny and criticisms of the misguided Homes for Lambeth regeneration schemes. We are deeply angry that the council refused to listen to warnings from Green Party councillors and residents which has resulted in many millions of pounds of tax-payers’ money wasted. Residents and the environment have unnecessarily suffered at the hands of our Labour Council.”
ENDS