Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee - Wednesday 17 July 2024, 7:30pm

Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Wednesday, 17th July 2024 at 7:30pm

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Disclaimer: This transcript was automatically generated, so it may contain errors. Please view the webcast to confirm whether the content is accurate.

welcome to the meeting.

my name is Councillor Wyatt, and I am the Chair of the Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

members of the Committee, I will now call your names in alphabetical order, please switch on your microphone and I will confirm your attendance and at the first name on the list, such as Councillor Austin, and we know he's gonna be light but he will be here Councillor is,

Councillor cash-in.

yeah

Councillor Mrs Graham

Councillor MacLeod, present, and welcome to first meeting Councillor Rigby, thank you.

Councillor Tyler, present.

good concede from.

and another first.

housing meetings, Councillor very Farage

but unfortunately, he Councillor giving jar.

is unwell,

and I hope we can see him online, but yeah, nice person and our hope, you're not too unwell Councillor, give India.

sorry will be unable to appear in person, but he will be joining us on teams, but thank you, Councillor White, thank you very much for for for that and I explained to Mr Kelly that I will participate when I can, but I will have largely keep my camera closed if I may good fantastic.

as a committee member, because he's online he won't be able to vote but but you'll be able to participate.

I would also like to welcome Councillor ticketing cabinet member for housing.

and also Councillor Hogg, Leader of the Council.

who will introduce the paper on the autumn?

and we do have other Councillors in attendance.

we've had apologies from Ms Price, the deputy chair of the Borough residents Forum.

are there any other apologies, apart from Councillor Austin?

OK, yes.

and we had a number of officers present, it will introduce themselves when they addressed the Committee, so first item is the minutes.

are there any objections to confirming the previous minutes of the 23 of January as a correct record?

OK, good and declarations of interests, are there any declarations of bikini other vegetable or non registrable interests, I'll start by saying I'm a member of crew wishes, community, renewable energy company, and they do have some.

relevance in some of the papers, some of the time, but not necessarily this evening, by gain no financial interests from my involvement, anybody else, Councillor C Ashton, Councillor leaseholder.

Councillor Taylor, I'm a council tenant.

Councillor McDonald, I'm also a council tenant.

excellent OK.

OK so.

so the report of the boroughs residents forum meeting on the 10th of July, unfortunately, Miss Price is not here to to give us a rundown, but.

but I remind Members to give attention to the views of the Borough residents Forum when considering related items on tonight's agenda.

are we OK to note the report for information, Councillor, Mrs Graham?

thank you Chair.

Councillor Taylor is the housing champion, and when I'm sitting on the Borough housing, as I did.

I was disappointed that he does isn't sitting on it and I'm very interested to know why, because he is a champion for housing, with all the new initiatives get going through.

we welcome a councillor for, but I'm very interested to know why Councillor Taylor is not, you know, able to be part of it, I think we can take that away and certainly give you an answer, but I don't think it is something for discussion this evening thank you yes,

if you look at the minute from the 6th of January.

there were questions actually in the minutes that residents chairs of arrays us, and I note this time on the tents, that questions which were pertinent to the Leaseholder and Freeholders reform were not added Irene, quite a few Councillors on your side would be quite interested also to know what the parade chairs.

what we're saying you know they mentioned in the focus group they mention the

concern about insurance. Will it be on you know, and also about microchipping, OK, micro chipping of cats or but also the electrical bites, but it gives a taster for us as Councillors, to take away and when we are debating to actually take that into our discussions, I really would appreciate I mean if you want to show me. I have said you the actual agenda from the previous 6 of of January, where there were very good questions and I just feel that I would like to see. I'm sure it will continue, but I would very much like to see that happen would be lobby. Would you be OK to e-mail or Chris and see where we can put some of those questions in

yeah yeah, good OK, 0 and so, apart from that, all we are able to note the report for information.

OK, good OK, so there is a proposed change, the order of business.

so that we will bring the autumn paper forward, no, that that's

the paper of interest and

it will also mean that Councillor Hopkins flip-flopped between housing and finance this evening.

I have never flip-flopped.

so if I can ask?

Councillor help to introduce the paper.

thanks very much chair delighted to be here on this special evening, really really pleased to be able to introduce and share with you our plans for major investment in the alternate state, Elton renewal plan will help to keep the area special while making sure that all of the residents there can participate in the exciting opportunities that are generated in that neighborhood.

our plan will deliver quick improvements, so residents, including free use of that university bus, drives people mad seeing the University bus going by empty from September residents we able to use that for free, also working with a great partners at Wandsworth community transport to put on a minibus for local people.

you'll see a new Oulton Community Safety Officer to help make the neighborhoods safer working with police partners to actually get them based on the estate as well, because if you're living in fear of crime, you can't enjoy a fulfilled life and you'll also see new play spaces for children of all ages, not just sit down she fields, but also those fences round open activity centre will be coming down as well because we need those quick wins to help build trust, to show our commitment to the neighborhood. We're not the first set of politicians that have gone to that estate and promise great things, but we have spent the last two years listening to local people. You'll see in the report the pillars that have come out. It is about transport, it is about being connected to the rest of Putney, it is about those community facilities, it's about public safety and of course it's about homes as well, but it's not just about demolishing whole parts of the estate and bringing new people in it's about lifting up the community that's there at the moment, so as I say, once we built, that trust, those initial measures adjust the star in the longer term you'll see more than 650 new homes being built, of which 58% will be affordable homes, council homes guarantee for local people and their sons and daughters, and that's more than double the affordable housing that we've seen in previous proposals in this area, we're going to create a brand new community hub with new library in at plus. We're going to bring more shops and more job opportunities to the estate.

and of course, as we're hosting London Borough of culture, 2025 will put the Olton at the heart of that, so there will be new cultural and creative opportunities for local people and

all sorts of I know I'm stealing a lot of thunder from the next presentation, but all sorts of wonderful schemes as well, like we're going to push through and Oulton gate into Richmond Park there, so local people will be able to get access not just into the heart of Putney but also into the beautiful green space around so in this in creating this Oulton renewal pan we've listened really really carefully to the priorities of local people we now begin a year long conversation about it.

I held my leaders drop in there on Saturday, it was great to listen to more than 100 people there, all of the council, cabinet and directors went to the estate from the way they on Friday with the Cabinet Member, with the excellent ward councillors, we've been out listening to schoolteachers, we've been listening to businesspeople and, of course, dozens and dozens of residents and initial feedback has been positive. Obviously lots of questions raised, but as I say it's a year, long conversation now than everyone gets their say in the ballot and then onwards through planning permission and so on. I'd just like to say a huge thank you to all of the officers that have worked on this, many of whom were fortunate enough to have here tonight.

and I want to thank them all individually, but just to say it's wonderful to have anti all got here this evening and Paul more, and I think we're now going to hear from them to two of the many architects of this who will be able to talk you through some of these proposals in more detail thank you.

thank you very much, Councillor Hall, before I know your question from Councillor, given the about I'd really like to go to the two officers Councillor Andy Elgar and Paul Moore.

to say a little bit more about this.

good evening members, thank you Chair, thank you leader, you stole my thunder already, so I think my job is to be the warmer Pack 2 4.

Mr Algar this evening, I'd just to by way of introduction, at the next full more, and our Interim Director of Place pleased to meet a number of Members here this evening and apologies for not having had the opportunity to meet face-to-face.

previously I'm new to the team and and firstly I must commend the great work that's been done by two good colleagues sat on the bench in front of me I picked up the running in January really with the brief to bring to bear on the autumn the broader body of contribution from the remainder of the council. That's the brief that I've taken on and I do stress that builds on the work in particular the and Anna done ma through much of 2023. Truly harvest of use of restaurants understand the views of residents and bring forward a range of creative ideas from colleagues working across Council departments.

so just going onto the first slide, what's the Autumn regeneration plan about, it's really trying to blend these three themes.

listening to views about the issues and the investment needs of the Alton estate as a place, it is clearly about advancing long-term investment in affordable homes.

and as we as the lead is rightly said already, it is about listening to people but critically delivering projects,

the get real traction and we will support and improved day-to-day lives that's really the challenge that the officer team collectively have been working towards Lady you've already touched on the pillows if we can go to those in the next slide, just as I say a few words about this, these have probably as much as any project that I've seen.

and been involved with in the last 10 or 15 years ago in south-east London, they've been driven by the views of residents.

much of that work during 23, but drawing on a broader legacy of work with partners and previous projects, I think we can honestly say that the views of residents, their asks, have informed the six pillars, and so some of the projects that underpin those pillars are,

clearly there in sections 10 to 16 of the report, I won't go over the same ground at the leaders already highlighted, one is there in the report, one of those six pillars clearly in the bottom left is homes, and at that point I think I'll defer to Mr annual LGA has done much great work in that space, thank you members,

thank you, every members, I'm Andy Allen the former Director of Regeneration and Development for the Council and.

I left on the 30th of June and at the time I've put my notice and I thought this committee was gonna be in June, Brian asked me to come back to do this as a as a Scotland, some so on I'm very pleased to be here.

this plan shows the the sort of core focus.

that we're looking at in terms of replacement homes,

refer to as the project's area and one of the things that came out from the consultation with residents desire to see.

more new homes made to tackle overcrowding homes in the area are generally of a standard typology and face a number of challenges.

many of the units fall well below modern space standards, over 25% are overcrowded, there is a lack of open space with the blocks, as a lack of communal gardens and no balconies.

the area that were particularly looking at has some quite significant accessibility issues, partly due to its topography, which is very steep the way it rises, so the way that people with either mobility, problems or pushchairs navigate the estate and very few blocks have level access and no blocks have lifts, so in terms of looking at the you know,

that area, in particular, shown on the plan and the quality of the housing we think we can do better.

and the performance standard of 61% of the homes are in the worst CAC IPC

environmental performance categories of De or a.

so there is an appendix to the report that contained some images try to bring to life the challenges of people living on the estate and how they how they traverse it, and we took off story did well, we took a very different approach, is a sort of demolition as a

as a last resort, which will come through when the the revised proposals form part of this pack, but in thinking about where the demolition was appropriate, we can see that some of the preceding issues around housing quality accessibility overcrowding as some wider issues about trying to transform the retail offer on the estate but building new shops and also in particular,

it's quite an alternative places inaccessible and getting from A to B.

the key looks easy on a map, but if you're trying to go from site, Dame very evident Quinn, Queen Mary's Hospital, and you can't hike up a steep hill where you have to go a very long routes and creating routes from Denby Havering to Roehampton line to give people more direct access to the to the bus services in the hospital was really important.

so the brief in services the proposals was was to reflect the priority themes and objectives, the pillars that the Leader referred to increase the level of social rent homes.

reduce the level of demolition, making a choice of last resort and provide a better balance between affordable and private homes.

and it retains all the key community elements, but now, in the context of this wider place, officers officers so offer, so in this this plan we've just shown it very generally, so the the errors in radar new housing

yellow his new community space.

blue is new communities.

our year of retail and commercial and Greenpeace on that plan is, is doubts Sheffield's, which is a significant local public open space.

so we move to a what we call a new people focused option.

sorry, 650 new homes over 50%, affordable significant reduction into demolition, new retail units to replace the existing units on time, Barry with a dash additional units on the other side of the road.

and enhance place and community offer, and that PRU improved accessibility between dying very Avenue Roehampton line that I referred to.

this is that one.

yeah, and this this table is is part of an appendix, but I think is quite useful to look at and making a contrast between the current proposals in the in the form of master plan, and they said there's a caveat to this because these are based on numbers of the old master plan and the new numbers are likely to be reduced because our home is a larger than the average private one and there is quite a significant change in tender tenure, but the proportions are sort of locked-in

so affordable housing has increased to well over 50% from the previous 24 number of units demolished is reduced from 288 to 178, there's a net increase of 130 social rent units versus a loss of one in the old proposals, a net loss of one and a net increase of affordable housing overall of 204 45 first is 30 in the all proposals.

and then the full moon, the new proposal and the former master plan were evaluated by officers against the themes identified and this is shown in the table, and it's also an appendix to the report, so the people focus proposal compared favourably to the original master plan, particularly on levels of affordable housing levels of demolition.

how many additional holistic impacts on place?

and clearly any any decision is never about qualitative scores, allowing it's also about affordability on cost Mum, when you look at these side by side and additional ask of the HR re, the new proposal is of the order of 60 million.

and the old proposal would have been circa 52,

and just to run through of the engagement process again, which is a really important theme in over a generation and what we're doing on the estate, but a process that engages an options selects the preferred upset proof that preferred option, then takes that preferred option.

out to ballot following another period of engagement and then runs a ballot, so I think good good, good consultation is is non negotiable and does take time, so whilst those timescales Martlew long LEPs, that's what we need to do to be able to get this right.

I think I'll hand over to pull to conclude so members just to just to round up.

report brings you a major programme of investment in the autumn, it shows a commitment to the special qualities of the autumn, but it also speaks to a number of the challenges faced by residents on a day-to-day basis and any deep businesses.

hopefully you see a a sense of balance and realism.

Worcester and show immediate delivery, which is important for the reasons re the the the leaders already outlined in terms of confidence and trust.

and a sustained programme for the medium and longer term investment, but that's still to be shaped by further restaurant engagement against the principles that we've outlined of you said and will do is a theme that comes forward through to sue this report and engagement that we've done so far and seek to continue so finally Members or as a step comprehensive recommendations and officers happy to take questions.

thank you, and thank you for.

Michelle gallery since I've known him that the Council has been the involved in ill, and so this is a big moment for him and and thank you so much for all the work, the point that the Council, I've also noticed that Councillor Austin is with us now and is his first meeting so welcome Councillor Austin,

OK, so we go to questions and think Councillor, give India add a question.

sorry, it's not a question, I think I just want to find out, how are we going to deal with the debate on this item, if I may put it this way, both the Leader and the various officers have made a broad-brush introduction to the paper and I think that be right.

for me to be able to make a broad brush response to those, and then we should go through the details of the paper, because fundamentally, the outcome is going to be driven by the detail in this paper and subsequent papers, so that's my first question to you are we going to have that way of dealing with the paper?

so you want to go through the paper bit by bit.

no, no, I what I am saying is that I think I should have an opportunity to make a broad brush response to what the leader, Mr Elgar, or Mr more, have done in their presentation, and I think that colleagues on all sides presumably will want to know some of the details there are several recommendations, each of which might recoup might merit a bit of a discussion. I think that's

and if you like, we can move straight to vote when you can win the bet and we can all go home, but I think it's not in the best interest of.

the openness 0 or decent debate that would benefit the residents auction,

that yeah.

that's why the discussion is, as we possibly can, Councillor Govindia think so if you've got any points to my, then I think it cannot Canadian, just just simply do it, a broad brush response to what

what leader Mr and Mr Mole had said, for my part, I think the third six pillars are not new, they are being part of the Council's thinking on the my administration and previous to that to that.

that anything that happens in Roehampton was going to be more than just simply housing. It was about improving connectivity, as well as life John's outcomes for residents. I think, apart from the quantum and tenure, there is significantly little to differentiate between the previous thinking of the cancel, any proposed thinking of the cancels I just wanted to register that to them now. Obviously there'll be individual things that will different, for example, we wanted the library you want to library, we want for transport connectivity, you want transport, connectivity, Sir saying away, I don't think there is a lot between us

but what I do think it's important that the residents of Whorlton will will know that this will be the fourth.

the consultation,

about their neighborhoods and quite rightly, they would want for a response for the council, which is both meaningful and and focused on delivery, and if that's the case that we wish you well, so that's my kind of broad opening remarks in light of some matters of detail that,

we've got mine and other colleagues may have that to

we'd like to go through

thank you, Councillor, given year than or whether Councillor ticket him for that I took respond, I mean I can only welcome a response to that which suggests that there are lots of shared.

shared goals as Councillor given do you know, as tenure type, for me, as a is more than a small things, so crucial to the framework through which we started on this because of our desire to deliver more Council housing for for local families who overcrowded currently on the estate, and I think the other kind of second key principle that has driven the design of this in a way that I think is different is our commitment to a ballot at the end, so we needed to build a very big and broad coalition of people which meant, I think, shaping the plans differently.

but I'm sure we'll get will get into that into the formative discussion, but all I can say is I can I welcome the the kind of broad brush stroke S, support for the priorities that we've outlined you know.

some of the things I think are moving pretty fast and one and a pretty unique, like the community bus, I think that's been an amazing pioneering effort by,

Councillor Yeats, one of the Ward Councillors and the shops offer Matthew Taylor, has played a massive role in changing the shops offer slightly, but many of these things like given here says Councillor givenDear says, is these things that we can all we can all support and all get behind so that's nothing but welcome from this committee.

thank you, sir, another question Councillor given year.

sorry, I think, Councillor, where I might not make myself clear, I think, after up to those opening remarks to which coming Councillor dictums, responses are is such a and and and and and conciliatory, just as I had hoped that might would have been to that, I think we should now go through the details of what the Council proposes, that may not have been a number of questions, a number of reservations and I know that I didn't really want to offload all of my

I stop and then suddenly you find the trip things get missed and I don't want to hug the platform either, because I'm sure there are other people have or have had a contribution to Greg I suggest that we go through it in some sort of chunk so that we can have a detailed debate on all aspects of the paper.

I cannot say on older committed, as I said from we go through the paper and people can ask any question plenty Common is something different being proposed, not everything I felt like the subtle sounds, like normal business demand. Crack on ask as many questions as you want this for us just to be very clear, we're incredibly excited about this. We like, within waiting to showcase this. This is a public forum where we get to talk about something that we think is going to be transformative for our borough, so we want to spend as much time when it is possible. We want to spend time on the detail, the details really important, so

OK, that's meets tasking black hole 2 2 2 years, Councillor decadence word.

this is the beginning of a conversation which will end up in a in a long conversation and ending about and then progress beyond that can I ask whether there is a scheme of consultation which there's not much in the paper that says who will be consulted stakeholders but you know exactly who make up the stakeholders whether the consultation will be with exclusively with people on the estate or will it be the wider neighbourhood, will it be also with non-residential assets on the on the on the altered?

what is the waiting that we might want to give to those and say so I just just want to ask that question.

great historical consultations yeah, so if the Committee pass recommendations tonight, then we have a kind of up to the summer Committee of next year and master planning process, and that will be very broad and will have institutions like the Roehampton partnership feeding into that, we want to set up working groups that work directly. You know anyone who is interested and wants to get involved in that master planning process, and but that masterplanning process will also take place alongside the options that we call last year. Charnley people focused on and or and or do nothing one at the end of the day, because we think that's important and so it during that year. Long masterplanning residents feed in and that'll be wider than the than the kind of demolition area that the ballot process is a statutory process and that has specific rules and that does only the votes, are only for the people who are directly affected by the impact on their own housing, specifically so broad net at the start during the masterplanning lots of consultation

and nailing down, so we can have you know, drawings and pictures on a physical plan that then goes to the ballot and ballot lasts roughly six months, and that is much more focused and targeted on those residents who are affected by the demolition.

I I appreciate that I recognise the limitations of the ballot and the statutory nature of the rules around it, but in leading up to the ballot. What about the wider Roehampton community? In essence, people east of the Roehampton delay is one of the fundamentals must be that we what we, whatever regeneration occurs. It reduces the divide that Roehampton Lane poses between East in the west of of that Les and if we touched remains the Council's ambition, and how are we going to to bring them in on the Congress? Of course, only last night I was I was on establishing the Holy Trinity with Reverend Joshua, and Roehampton. Partnership, which includes partners, are

the Klopp down the road or people who might not even necessarily live in Roehampton, but run community organisations voluntary sector. So that first year is big net. We want to bring in everyone and people that work in Roehampton people that passed through Rampton if possible, people that live on either side of Roehampton Lane. So you know the scheme, as you say, only works if the community is brought together particularly that, and we have all discussed it for years and years and years that kind of divide is separated by the road. You know that that that's socioeconomic divide is partly why the regeneration investment in community so important, so

you know we will be, and we will be leafleting and delivering all the materials develop, that wider footprint that covers both sides of the road.

okay.

again, with the other colleagues want to add in, but I can I do if I feel I still have your attention, Chair right move to move to.

retail offer suggested in yeah.

there is a kind of the reference in paragraph 91 to convenience shopping, then so I'm just agreeing developed from the divide of Brampton Lane.

I I, I feel that the Council's ambition on the retail offer on that end up Denbury Avenue is is poor, I think residents are entitled to more than convenience shopping.

I think in a wider context.

estate has significant issues of cost of living pressures and in a clinic and shops, don't offer the full range of discounts and full range of goods and so on, and I very much hope that somebody can now put some flesh on what they mean by convenience, whether it is more than Tesco Local when the current copies fine, but it's not great. This Griflex needs to almost double to provide deranged that people want. Then one minute remember. This is a very, very diverse community and we know there are people know better than I do, but you know there is no reference to diversity of shopping of that in a why should somebody had to travel miles together bunch of plantains for for the for the evening meal, and there is no effort year 2 2 2 trying to to try and make that easier for for the many in the in the area?

okay, Michel gaps are also around that the on page 12 about economic inclusion, and it talks about very similar, attracting new shops and businesses and more skills training and employment opportunities, and maybe talk a little bit about that as well, what what type of training and skills with people expect to see?

OK so many in in terms of the the the retail offer, it's it's it's focus in centuries, Sophia significantly different from what was praised before, which was that we provide continuity to those existing shops that people value the most.

and provide those on the north side of dying very Avenue and, as with the old proposals, we may be a bit more flexible about retail uses, community use or business use, so I don't see that this is significantly different from the 0 1 and paragraph 91 only refers to shops north of Denbury Avenue North South in terms of employment and skills.

we are looking as part of the proposals for the new Community Hub to put some low cost workspace in there, so that would come out relatively early in the scheme

and we will be working with the die are it's likely that that space will be managed in-house by the Council, rather than external operator, so we will, we will be looking, I suppose, thinking about what we will be spending ourselves in terms of construction and what we might be doing for local people there and also working with the VDO about small businesses in that space and creating spaces for the DIO to give advice and training and others adult learning from that new community hub.

although I think I'd like to move on to some of the other committee members, so has anybody got any questions, Councillor Rigby?

they also Gate sounds really Cole giving people access to the park, how come that was never there before, is it just because of the way it's being configured or was the conversation not had?

is something we've been working on for five years.

but it's dependent on Royal Parks, so there is no lack of.

attitude or enthusiasm on the council's part. It's just we were always depend, were we still are dependent on a Royal Parks, but it does appear to be finally falling in place after five years of lobbying and engagement with them. A year ago we did a walk around with local ward councillors and the rural parts, and Richmond because of a planning application that was gonna be about the opening of that space, so we're starting to see some some movements enjoy some joint coordination. It is a

I kind of thing that comes up regularly, that you know people have to go all the way round and there are kids who live on the estate has never been to Richmond Park, which is obviously a travesty, and the regeneration is all about trying to provide those opportunities.

no bad back back gardens, however early Richmond Park as a Councillor, because shine so.

thank you, Chair

it's good to see this paper.

as we know it as their support across the Chamber for doing something about the Whorlton we might disagree about the way to go about that, but it's great, finally, after two years, to see this paper because the autumn residents obviously have been living with uncertainty over the last couple of years and the papers very good on the detail of the ambition what you want to achieve and there's lots about that that we would support wholeheartedly but that the paper is fairly sketchy on how those ambitions will be achieved.

we know that the heart housing sector, for example, is very volatile and it never behaves the way we wanted to behave.

there is relatively little on risk management if things don't go ideally, as we would like to in terms of being able to fund this project.

I notice, for example, that there's mention of applying for a GLA grants.

we've been led to believe that there will be a lot of building going on around the country, so presumably presumably they'll be a lot of pressure on GLA grants from other boroughs, so then these known unknowns that probably unknown unknowns out there as well.

and the papers really sketchy on that, so I'd like a bit if possible, I realised that it's still early days, but if I could hear a little bit more for me, the cabinet member or the Leader of the Council or officers about how that risk will be managed and should the funding not be available through the expected sources, what fall-back plan is there so that residents can be feel reassured that this will happen as planned and there is no cross subsidisation involved in this instance.

OK, so say on the wider housing market point, so whilst the delivery model hasn't been determined is probably all my certainly going to be itself delivery model, so if you like, the risk to this scheme.

in the early stages, is the Council Council's ability to build and deliver big blocks of housing, and he's got a track record of doing that over a number of years.

so to that extent, and because private sector subsidies such a small assumption.

you know, I think we can see you know a good medium term plan in terms of delivery of housing on site.

in terms of ground, and I think the Cabinet Member might be closer to this, my understanding is that discussions with the mayor's office been really really positive about grown and securing that and again that impact goes back to.

the Council's track record of delivery in a meeting with the GLA they described the council as a as a surefire delivery partner, so if you like, if we say, give us some grant and Wigan at deliver some units, they can do that with a degree of confidence which they can't necessarily do with that many borrowers in London.

yeah, I mean what I'd add, and it's nice to see the rumsfeld's quotes early on in the meeting is is one of the key distinctions. Is that this, and he says this might be a joint venture, so we have a element of control over this which actually frees up massively because if there are external shocks than we have more control because it's our own build programme, it's our own. We will be contacting builders to deliver

to ascertain spec.

it's basically straight-up funding were not there's not speculate development really in it, and on your point about the kind of possible competing interests I mean I, I see us as a major partner of a new government that needs to deliver new social housing, so I'm fairly confident that this will be precisely the kind of scheme that the government will be looking to offer of a grant towards the ballot process which we banged about four years is precisely to get access to that grant because without the ballot and don't get access to the grant.

now you know, you're right that there are always kind of possible external shocks that we can't account for one of the things I was very adamant about is that we came with clear percentages and numbers for you to hold us to account on going forward you know that's what I always used to do when I was in opposition.

you would say we're going to do this and then hold us to account on it, these are ambitious, affordable housing targets in the current market, this is an ambitious scheme on net additional social rent housing, something that I am obviously very passionate about, so in some ways we're giving you a very early high watermark that we will have to be held to account on.

so you know that's that's a challenge on us, but it is a challenge that we should take because I think is the right thing to do.

and yeah, the grant has kept pace with the inflation within the housing and construction industry has met Assad is yes just about here.

OK, sorry, Councillor Michigan

sorry, Council, Councillor, Mrs Graham, sorry, can you bring you might closer that's a year?

thank you,

paragraph 6

how realistic or confident?

the early, but I early 25 2025 will be when you're planning submission, when it's now, July August, and you have this massive consultation with eastern West, the bigger community and also the consultations and also the six monthly ballot I mean because we want this to be as best as we could, but I think that's pretty tight Dr.

don't worry.

2028 that that's just for the Roehampton hub blockade, so it's really important that we thought, in order for residents to see that we are going to get something done in our first term, that block A was brought forward because residents have been waiting so long and it's such a kind of symbolic building of like boarded up.

the the promises of the master plan, so what we've done is we've actually going to have a separate planning application for the Roehampton Community Hub, blocked the entrance to the estate

and you're right that is separate from the process of the housing, the shops, the retail and the demolition, because that is a much longer timeline

so that's that's that that last what's going on in the report that

yeah, Councillor M screen

paragraph I think 91.

Minstead gardens, I'm looking at.

they have had, they've actually not being, they don't think they're not loved.

for want of a better word, and I'm just wondering you know where they are going to be as regards to the Samuel capacity and the regeneration of them, because it's desperately needed, so I visited them on Friday and they were concerned about their homes being demolished in their homes on in the demolition zone.

and they did bring up the issue of DPC and the challenges we have around conservation because of the IPC, yeah and proposals have been brought forward about moving kitchens and living rooms and they were very upset about that and that has been parked and that's not happening. So we had a long discussion about possible plans and one of the things from that meeting on on Friday was for me to go off and talk to officers about what it would look like to try and bring the IPC rating of those bungalow ha homes as part of as part of the regeneration but haven't I haven't got an answer for you, but we have engaged with them and I met with the with the residents that

and you have gushy Councillor, until thank you Chair.

well has, as many people may know, I became politically active precisely because of the old conservative master plan, and you know, I don't wish to puncture the nice cooperative conciliatory tone we've had so far or to speak ill of the dead.

but.

I do feel I have to start by stressing the differences between what came before what what we were going to get before Labour took power in Wandsworth and what is on offer here, so in all brick house we have a magnificent, iconic building a brutalist icon that people come from all over the world to see of a piece with the slab blocks on Highcliffe Drive which are listed and over it costs nearly itself became listed and I hope some day it will be and yes, that's an icon that's been featured on council materials, but we weren't going to lose it and now we're not.

and it's going to be refurbished, and I'm hugely proud of that, and the same goes for the purely residential blocks on the south side of don't be Avenue also due to be refurbished rather than demolished.

and so the cultural and environmental impact of that is amazing and better than anything I could have hoped for so yeah, so that the past two years have been very busy and I've got to play tribute to everyone involved, in particular my fellow Roehampton Councillors Councillor Jenny Yates Councillor Graham Henderson here here here today.

I may not be too modest, but I have a further stake in Roehampton that actually no other Councillor in the Baradar's, since I'm also a lifelong resident in a Council tenant and tenants champion, furthermore, and so this has been a huge focus for me and,

a passion project for me.

and I was taken up a huge amount of my time and I'm proud to contributed to to the plans that we see today.

and while some may say.

so that the change in language and regeneration to renew is unnecessary, but personally, I'm quite glad of it because the Alton estate is not a time, lord or a worm, that's been cutting to it's a unique place with some problems that the officers have looked at but also a lot of strengths manifested by the amazing work that's standing community organisations too many to mention here or single out but,

anybody who lives in Roehampton Bono, the organisations I mean, and if anyone thinks this is a very localised issue.

or if no relevance to the rest of the borough, I'd like to stress that the renewal will be a flagship programme and will set the tone for how the Borough provides for council tenants and helps cut down the huge waiting lists.

for council housing that we have inherited, furthermore, the proportion of council housing and, more broadly affordable housing we've gone from three quarters private to.

over 40% council housing and total affordable housing close to 60%.

and that's a brilliant example that we can follow for the rest of the borough and I hope will be followed by the whole country, thank you Chair, thank you, Councillor Taylor.

Councillor Jessie, thank you Chair, I've got a couple of questions, so the first one is about a Compulsory Purchase orders, so these are mentioned in the paper, but again there's there's there's not a great amount of detail about.

what they refer to, why there might be needed and also quite controversial in their way, they relate to Private property rights, so it's very important that there are checks in place, so if could have a little bit more information about the CPOs, what they might be used for and should they be used what types of properties at predominantly I expect it's predominantly retail properties,

and what that information be shared with all members of the Committee and would would we be consulted on on any CPO, is that that may take place?

I mean compulsory purchases banana valuable factor of regeneration of this scale.

the process is heavily governance.

boy, legislation in terms of the checks and balances because, as you say, goes to some sort of very significant human rights issues around.

appropriate in people's property, so on both schemes, probably since 2014 we've been acquiring on CPO terms, which are better than normal terms.

voluntary. It's a part of our offer, has been, and will continue to be, if you want to sell to us and you are arrested and, and it's your choice, you get market value plus 10% and disturbance costs. The process for CPO comes off the back of a implementable planning, consent and and a clear proposal that the scheme can be funded. The decision to make the CPO is one for the executives, it goes to committee and its scrutinised in the normal way

the assets that we acquiring as a last resort are listed

and it will be a mix, it will be anything that we have, we've been unsuccessful in Acquaah and by negotiation now, inevitably, the balance of that is likely to be residential, but you can't really sort of second guess if there are any

objectors to the CPO and there's normally at least one, it then goes to a public inquiry, so in terms of public scrutiny and the ability of the Council of decision to be, the council needs to take the decision properly and is then properly accountable for that decision. The alternative without CPO is that you can you just can't do development of this scale.

but there is a possibility, because the plan is working quite a tight timescale, so if those CPOs are challenged and presumably that that could affect the timescale in terms of delivery.

this programme doesn't go beyond the ballot process because we haven't got a proposer when we've got a firm proposal and we've cleared the ballot, there will be a programme that goes with that that will facts are in the impactive A CPR she tend to do a best and worst-case scenario, so we don't assume that it's not gonna be Nady, we tend to work on the on the country assumption and we will try and focus phasing, maybe will be determined but land face available to clear.

might be a factor in the order that we hope will be a factor in the order that we do things over, there is stuff we can build to avoid CPO, that's what we will do to be getting on with stuff.

I'm just question about balance.

what is the?

minimum percentage of residents that would constitute a valid representation of a majority opinion on the estate, as we've seen in elections, it's possible for something to be rejected by 66% of the population, but still be seen to be the overwhelming choice of the pupils, so it is a valid question because 10% of residents could give 6% 70% thumbs up at 90%.

haven't spoken so.

yeah yeah, so how will how will the ballot be seen as a valid representation of residents' views, I think there'd be an argument that we subjected actually the election that?

he says there is there's no turnout requirement and it's, and it's a simple majority, but clearly, given the huge effort that the council is putting into the engagement process, it will want the highest possible number of people to vote and the highest possible a number of people to vote yes so where?

proposal would have got public support across London boroughs and maybe hit in 78% turnout.

with similar figures in terms of people saying Yes, so you you are demonstrating

an absolute majority in favour of the proposals now I can't guarantee that, but I that's the objective if we're not getting whiter now, and you know very high, if he came back in, it was 51% and 20% of the people voted, you know, I think we might reflect about whether that demonstrated a mandate, so we committed to getting the vote out and to get in a yes vote or we will be

when tested Councillor give India

thank you, thank you Chair, I got a couple of questions, one owner something Councillor Mrs Graham raises part or 86 a question on finance, but just something that on the electoral stuff that Sir Elgar just responded to mean earlier I had a paean of praise of.

along the lines of saying Walton today universe tomorrow, if that is the ambition of the Council learning and of course I applaud that we not have an ambition to have a turnout higher than any other,

comparable.

ballot because I think you know each in everyone's interests, that maximum participation and maximum support is given case. If there's a 15 20 year Bilbao programme and you are doing really want a sizeable number of people feeling a bit sore about the outcome, so I, it's justice, is just a plea at 20 to 86. I am a bit surprised Councillor victims reply, because I only thought that that was the timescale for all of it, so item detailed questions on that. Then the planning submission just for the small element of aid will presumably sit within the master plan, which presumably will have been consulted on and agreed, and therefore be a document of some interest and import. Where does that fit in this time line and say

saying is that between approval of planning, which is the end of 2025 and start of Site, 6 will start on site in six months.

it doesn't mention procurement and we don't actually at the moment.

how are we are going to deliver this, so the procurement will vary depending on how we are going to deliver it, so I'm just a bit flummoxed by by by that time line.

just on that narrow bit, but also at that time learning fits in with the wider whiter planning, permission, implementation, procurement and Orwa, so perhaps a question answered that then I just want to come on finances, which would be my last contribution if I mess they will be pleased to hear OK, thank you, thank you Mark and that's what you're quite experienced saying.

that launched for this.

yeah, so this section solely relates to the romantic community hub which will be taken as a standalone planning application, so it won't form and implementation of the pre-existing.

master plan, there is a detailed programme that sits beneath these dates, that factors in the procurement is that you say you know, you start procurement of a contract or well in advance of the PAC decision so that you're ready to go to minimise the construction period and again this is a self-build project 40 homes in a and a community building.

it's a large scheme, but it's by no way near the largely scheme that we have delivered or or will deliver, so the detail programme beneath this you know, I've got confidence so those rates we've summarised that but those dates are achievable, including procurement yeah I'm gonna jump in and say that this,

cutting this off from the master plan is very resident-led, like this is directly due to the constant referral at every single consultation and public meeting, one-on-one stakeholder engagement that block A needs to come forward fast and we need to show movement on the ground on it, so the reason for that separation outside of the masterplanning process is precisely to respond to that resident engagement.

on the ballot, I am absolutely thrilled to hear you are now convert to the ballot and care about the turnout of said Ballack, given that you refuse to do a ballot in the first place, so I'm happy to take on any challenges but of course it's a you know, so it's a brave New World through the Conservative administration, to support about it on the Olton regeneration after all these years, and I look forward to you guys helping us turn the vote out for a yes vote on these plants. So I look forward to that in a couple of years' time.

how much of our supports you willingly, Sir, want us to give you, because I think there are lots of engagements being talked about over the next year. We would like to be able to say that we have some Syrian it some participation, but we are just simply going to be rolled out at the moment when you want to have a ballot to say well. This is a bipartisan approach. Will I think it might not have earned the goodwill? So I hope that over the next year you're going to work hard and our goodwill, just as you're going to work hard during the goodwill 0 the residents, and just let me go to the the. The question of the finances in paragraph 1 1 1 2 6 7, talks about various projects and the various sums of money. I mean, there is no indication that this paper of what those projects are

very significant capital projects from the General Fund, sorry, I mean you don't have to have it now, but I would like some details of what is it that that money is going to go out words and I had put in the church a question about what will cancelled due to attract a wider range of shopping offer for the area so hopefully somebody will.

cover that Cook cucumber back them, could that be answered by e-mail Councillor given year, they certainly the question of the projects could be answered by e-mail I and, if you don't have an answer to be the shocking thing, equally happy to have it in in in in writing later on.

I mean, I can briefly outline the shopping plans were directly linked to the issue of meanwhile space for the existing shops and some of the most loved existing shops right so by providing a new shopping front down the side of time revenue that wasn't previously, and this this was Councillor Tiller's work is we give a 1 transfer for those who want, so there's no two year waiting period because we were worried that those businesses would go bust or would move elsewhere, or we'd have a regeneration where those who had stuck it out in the community during the hard times didn't benefit from the good times. So the aim is for that single transfer. Of course, some of those our local businesses, some of those are franchise chains

that we'll be able to get into the detail of it. We've also had feedback at the Roehampton Partnership last night that obviously there's a great desire amongst local community groups for there to be a kind of well what was aware. Kind of community led entrepreneurship scheme where you might have a peppercorn rent for local entrepreneurs or for local community spaces to rent out so that the devil obviously will be in the detail, and we can't yet know we were not going to have the name of which shops are in it, but what we can be very clear on to those shops that are currently existing as a

they you know that those community shops will be offered that One Stop move over from their old shop unit into a new one before the other shop units are demolished.

so that's our way of kind of protecting

some of those existing businesses, whilst also obviously increasing the overall footprint and shopping, and the final thing to say is obviously the large shop is again one of the biggest feedback from the community, and the aim is to plan is to have that underneath where the old library is, so that's a rough plan because that's a rough place where we can put it that community engagement is very clear, they need to have a larger shopping shopping unit but okay,

perhaps.

the rest of Philby ambition and delivery on on the shopping range and offer could be fleshed out in correspondence with me.

that would be helpful.

yeah, I think that it can be done here.

OK.

Mr Moore.

ma Members Councillor given use point about the enlisted capital projects, I mean some of those specifically that we've got a capital element are on page 28 29, sorry, I am going to line by line in front of me in terms of the numbers to projects, but I can give more detail on that via e-mail as you've suggested Chair.

that would be helpful.

sorry, I think Councillor Austin was first.

Councillor Dafydd

so this borough has a serious an issue with overcrowding, and I believe that's 47 households on Oulton are considered overcrowded, and I think the officer said that's just over 25%, so with the new council, homes that are going to be built, would they are they going to be built to specifically address the issues of overcrowding and with the larger properties go into families are already currently waiting.

part of the Council's regeneration of has always been to move tenants, ones and if they are overcrowded to move them to a home that is suitable for their needs, so the answer is yes, I think that any the additional stock I think is the Leader said will be,

allocated as far as possible, to meet local needs, to try and keep that community together and free up other units per year, very, very targeted units, which is one of the challenges of designing blocks around specific PayPal, rather than just doing a silver standard unit mix.

Councillor is.

I have a very detailed question.

it's in relation to the work on definitely of fields, and Hartley is because I asked the same question at the planning application which were granted, and it's to do with the fact that, although there are all sorts of marvellous things proposed for that green space, there are no public loos specified and for a very large area of open space I would have thought it was necessary.

if we are talking about access for all people with small babies, elderly people with weak bladders, we can't necessarily get back to the top of our flat if it's off the top of a blog.

would want to go to the pub across the road all will want to go are able to go to the

the hub, though I don't really, have I mean the activity centre.

nobody gave me an answer at the Planning Committee, although everyone looked so surprised that there wasn't a public loo.

but one of the tenants Jenny introduced me to after the meeting said that she had asked the same question some years ago and got no answer either, so is anywhere answer about public loos in that open space.

so, Mr elbows, I mean it has never been part of the proposals, I suspect, because of the way the space is used as a general amenity space, it's not intensively used like a recreation facility, there are taller facilities at both the CAF.

and the library that the public can use.

and it's a listed garden, so there are some severe logistical proposals, yeah, wider placing a new solar, what I think I'll do, is I'll come back with a kind of where we think the ones that are being built into, like you say, the hub the autumn activity centre and then distances access points and so there's at least accessibility.

willing with the word for it, but it kind of yeah.

my my point was that I think it's going to be so nice, it's going to be a destination for a lot of estates around, I mean, I would certainly have gone very valuable to the other side of Damery Avenue because it looks as though it'd be lovely so but thank you Councillor.

Councillor Austin,

thank you very much, Councillor White fussy, just like to humbly apologise to you for being my lateness, unfortunately our new prime Minister didn't consult with the council were for putting a state opening of parliament today and I got caught in the city before coming out humbly apologise for the racism from my greatness.

as everyone knows my first day, so I'm going to be the wanted to ask the stupid questions, I'm sure this evening, so please do apologise for that, I think first of all there's been a lot talked about the community boss.

and I'm a details, person is working in property that there's a lot of broad overview, but very little detail, and I'm sure we will move on to that in future meetings, but the community service is something about what firstly, I'll do them altogether, firstly walked other transport initiatives are being proposed, secondly,

why have we reduced the number of units by for hundred and 45?

58% of 1,108 units of affordable housing is bigger than than then, and thirdly, the ballots, which balloting and things is something that is obviously I'm exceptionally interested in, will the Cabinet Member confirm now we feel to extend that ballot to all schemes large and small, that are up for development in the borough.

so it is free questions that are starting to try and school and he's going to deal with child porn.

members, unconsciously Cabinet Member for Transport, is your money on my right hand shoulders.

J just top lines on it, I mean, we know buses are essential to the lifeblood and the movement around Auden autumn.

we know it's a disconnected, it feels like a disconnected community, the bus services are simply not reliable enough, there were the end of the route and that makes them frail a lack resilience. So one of the key messages from leading Members from the community is help us achieve a more reliable bus service that starts with tearful barely operators so working with Cabinet Lead colleagues like David tiddly user

touré, strengthen his Barra to to advocate the Council's position, seeking to get a more reliable, more robust, core bus service, so so that's that's the job of detail, it said we got some really powerful data to support that lobbying.

around a number of bus journeys that continue beyond Clapham Junction, for example, so a strong base of lobbying, and that will continue for some time powered by Dave data, working of obviously at a political level but a managerial level as well a couple of other significant bus projects you've already highlighted the community community bus seeking to tailor that offer to,

you know the greatest need to tell you that around what residents need most, we know that shopping is a key consideration, so how we shape that.

community bus into the scheduling services frequency drop offs, pick-ups, leaders already mentioned the dual use of the university bus Kee frustration for residents, seeing that do return journey some station everyday, empty good partnership work with a university to engender their collaboration and really pleased that we, we managed, to get that one. Across the line. At 2.00 year, pilot project, part funded by the council, were making a contribution to to to that offer their looking to get that started in September. So I think those are those are the key key bus projects. Other good work going on around permeability. I think Mr al-Jaza, or already mentioned at some point ceremony earlier presentation, cycling active travel clearly wayfinding to the autumn, so extending across Road, making it easier for

for cycle journeys to the autumn. For those who've don't make that journey very often, I've been one of those recently, I can pinpoint some of the some of the areas we can improve the signage, so it's the job of detail. I think you mentioned the the the detail ward, so that those are those projects that spring to mind as the ones we want to get moving on quickly. They're early, impactful projects, there are things we can get rolling on quickly thanks, Mendes yeah, I'll I'll take the the last two points, so if you go to Appendix 5, which is on page 42, you'll get the raw breakdown of numbers, so on your maths about percentages, I remember fractured did that within parliament, where she would move their hand up and down. This scheme is very specific on net additionality, so you'll see that the

the drop in overall figures is directly overwhelmingly linked to the private sale units, whereas affordable housing has gone from 2 6 1 in the previous 2 3 8 5 that's a net additional on social rent housing to 130 from minus 1 in the previous scheme.

and a decrease in private sale from 8 4 7 down to 2 7 8, so that the the shift is explicitly designed to increase the net additional, affordable housing. So it's not. The by reducing the percentage were artificially inflating. We are going gung for home on net additional affordable units and that reduction is coming from private sale, which we very categorically believe is the right thing to do when it comes to public land. On the point about the ballot, that is a statutory, as you well know, that is to do with a statutory position and when you demolish people's homes, the thousand homes programme, which is what I think you are referring to, is not the monitoring anyone's home, so we can't give a ballot if we decided to ballot on every single planning applications committed. If it came, we wouldn't even be able to do roof extensions so

I think, but I think I understand the point you're making

thank you, so no other questions, so can we.

sorry, 0 sorry, Councillor, giving you.

thanks Chair, just as I started, can I just say that.

we give you what I might call it a qualified support for going ahead.

lots of matters of detail in this paper which

I and my colleagues might want to raise in correspondence subsequently.

and the willingness with which you want to engage with us will determine how much of this qualified support becomes a basis on which we can build build a way forward at clearly my concern as somebody who has done the area for a long time would say is that the people all ramped and have been promised a number of,

the regeneration or renew whatever you want to call it offers in the past and have been disappointed by a variety of reasons and so on, and I I wish you well in not adding to that level of disappointment and if I can assist yes I will, but I think it would be a blank cheque from me is what I could tell you and you won't get a blank cheque from my colleagues either.

so wish you well that you need to carry on running on goodwill.

I'll take your good wishes there.

Councillor given here, thank you sorry if there is no.

any more questions can we.

agree to the recommendations at a 2 m,

yeah, OK, thank you very much, OK, so now going back to the agenda size item number 4, which is a Winstanley York, Road update, and we have a good paper with this.

do we move to discuss the gold paper?

yes,

take any yes, OK, and that means that the Sir, I'd public, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, Councillor sorry, I don't mean to be rude and interrupt before you finish your sentence.

there is an opening bid, the paper and there is a closed bits of the paper, I think this is a very, very significant development of a very wide public interest in the bar, so I think it behoves the kind of openness and transparency of the Council to at least introduce the open bit of the paper.

the open part of the meeting and then then go down the road of a closed discussion, otherwise the appearance is that the council is not willing to to share its concerns and debate in any way in any shape or form way with the public at the site. I really do think that very short, very brief paper with some introductions in some some have brought broad comments should be in the public domain for Councillor Gavin there.

I completely understand your position, my and this is this, I'm like I'm not wedded to this, but for the sake of my colleagues and I also thought for yours that we could get through the Gold bit to make the public bit slightly more informed and that was my suggestion that we would we would we would shut down public gallery have,

brief from officers, and then it would make the public part, rather than if we did the other way round, it might be quite confusing for anyone who is trying to understand what's going on.

OK, I should have got, I mean I, I forgive me, if I understood I thought I thought we were going to in the sense of the entirety of a debate on this item.

in the constituency, but if you are willing driver and I think that year I think yeah, I'll come back to the public parks so that, rather than just like we pretend the pulpit as an assistant skips rates are cold, we do gold first and then returned back to the public parks. I think then the public part will actually be worth a bit more because people will understand what does that make sense. Yeah grip. So the proposal is that under section 100 A in brackets for the Local government Act, 1972 members of public and press be excluded from the meeting. Whilst item 17 is being considered because it is likely that exempt information, as described in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of the schedule, 12 8 to the Act would be disclosed to them if they were present and it is considered that in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest of disclosing the information. Do I have a seconder for that

Councillor their Froch, thank you, is everyone happy with that?

Good point, OK, so we are back in open session and so as Councillor victim has just pointed out, we need to conclude on the Winstanley regeneration paper, so we will now go into the open paper.

and are there any questions on that one place?

I think I think sorry chaps for the members of the public who might be wanting to know something about it, and I think they're not officer needs to give us a brief paragraph as to what this is all about, and then we can do the questions otherwise it will look like no questions were gratitude it obnoxious scrutiny talking about councils, reputation, brilliant here,

entirely in your hands, OK, so is there a question?

writer yeah yeah, they are this introduction of we felt Brayford in the last year.

this provides a bit of.

recent background to where we are with Sharif a the progress since the last business plan.

it sets out or reminds us what the Jeeves objectives are, which are hardwired.

into the legal agreements and we're almost entirely based on accounts where they are. The non-financial ones, are entirely based on the Council's requirements that determine before procurement

so the report asks committee to note those objectives and also to know some complimentary council objectives and are consistent with the JV, only briefly touches upon the performance issues are you know?

in in a in a broader sense, so the recommendation asked the Committee to agree those the council's objectives provide dedicate out delegated authority for Javi Board members to be replaced, so the Council was currently operating with two board members since I left the Council when we think we need a full compliment and to note the content to note the contents of the report and the gold report confidential report, you've just considered.

thank you is any questions on that.

thank you Chair.

I welcome that contribution from Mr Elgar and

entirely in agreement with Councillors objectives set out in paragraph 11, after all, does will you objectives that have been?

the cornerstone of the Council's

position on the GB has since it was set up so entirely in agreement with that I just just want to briefly, I asked a question about the three or five additional at all has missed all got just sick.

complimentary additional objectives

this is kind of how they're not, I can't see the reasoning that I can't see the direct link with the existing objectives in these new ones, perhaps you could just slightly expand on on where have they come from and then to you Chair a very specific question which is about to be,

there will be new board member and to be perfectly understandable, but will you will you undertake to share with not just me but all members of the Committee, the full compliment the Councils' representation on the Jamie board once that appointment is made?

OK, so I made sort of the chives objectives, I think I'd probably said they were.

they were drafted by the Council before we procured a development partner room Bahraini used to inform.

all of the early master planning work.

and some of those of test stood the test of time and practice better than others, and I think what is really does is sort of flesh them out and makes.

explicit

what's perhaps implicit around, the council were requiring a pace of delivery about the scheme being affordable, because it was never envisaged that we will put additional funding in.

and to flesh out the sort of the Jovi's commitments in terms of, meanwhile, uses and commitment of the community.

so I don't think they knew I think they're

they build on the existing objectives,

based on experience.

OK thanks very much for that, and then chair a question to you that night.

and this is on the decisions on replacement of the Council's board representatives be delegated to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Executive Director of Finance.

yes, so when that's done could could we, all members of the committee, be given the because of the full compliment the Councils' members onward journey, yeah yeah?

OK, so can we agree to support the recommendations I to see?

yeah, I could just remind us that we've got less than 45 minutes now to finish the of the other papers, but if we now move to the Ombudsman paper.

I suppose I thank you are d' Algar for coming back from retirement to help us through that long session on two very important parts of this Council's business, with it's been a pleasure working with you both last year's likewise pleasure to.

to have been a scenario and to work for for both parties over a number of years.

and if these decisions are necessarily full stops, but they are are a way forward, hopefully pressure to thanks.

OK, so item 7, they work and David Johnson, yes, thank you, thank you, Chairman Committee, this this paper is, thankfully, quite a rare event, it concerns the Ombudsman's finding and issuing of what's called a public report which is there that the highest sanction,

so too is one way of describing it, it concerns events of some vintage now the application the homeless application was made in September 21, so, but you know the failings, the 12 failings identified by the Ombudsman and accepted by the Council touched.

in the main on the Housing Service, the responsibility of this Committee, there were delays in the assessment of the applicant's application, leaving her unsure about what was happening, there were findings made by the ombudsman that the accommodation

provided to her and her disabled child was unsuitable and then there was a wider point, and I think this is partly why the compensation ordered by the ombudsman, it was very, very significant amount was that there were also internal failings in liaison and joint working between ourselves and the children's services department. So this paper and this report is a rare occurrence. I've been with the authority for over 20 years now. This is the second time that we've had such a report, and just to put it in context and a bit of a bridge into the next paper, we are talking about dealing with last year, 3,000 homelessness approaches 1,100 placements into temporary accommodation, so this is, thankfully, a rare but serious

finding by the Ombudsman in their role as our regulator. So the failures of regretted for a full apology has been issued to the household, the compensation has been paid and the paper through paragraphs 8

down highlight the work that the various teams have taken to address the recommendations and the learning.

we are confident because of those measures as set out that these issues should not recur, obviously, in this world we can't give an absolute guarantee of that, but we are confident that the measures taken will vary significantly mitigate against these problems, some of which were structural in the sense that,

as described in the paper and in the following paper, these events, where historic they were before the investment in the service and somewhere a matter of process, as identified in the Ombudsman's report, which is set out at the Appendix. So I think this is here tonight and going to the Executive to fulfil their requirement.

this paper is done in public and that the Council's committee, and in particular the Executive, are fully sighted on it and can consider the steps taken in response to the faults found. I think that's all I wanted to say by way of introduction I don't know if my colleague wishes to add to that,

as good as good evening, everybody Debra, Johnson, Assistant Director for sending inclusion, and now I've got nothing to add, I think you outlined it perfectly, thank you.

any questions

Councillor rugby, I'm led just a couple of questions, one is are we assured that Ms X. In her family and now adequately housed and her children are receiving the right educational support, and second, one is what changes have been made in the process to ensure this never happens again.

thank you, Councillor, so yes, the Ombudsman has, on behalf of MICEX, has accepted that we have responded appropriately and fully to the faults found on the remedies recommended, so the compensation has been paid. The quite the best way of saying that his MICEX is, as I understand it, satisfied with the outcome of her complaint and into and there's been no further complaint around what we're currently providing the issue issue properly. How yes, now yet 2000 and suitable accommodation at the moment. As I mentioned, the paper goes through the the the changes we've made to ensure that these problems don't recur. In particular, if we look at paragraph 12, whereas before we were leaving

the identification of a child with special educational needs in the household, and particularly whether they had the H C P to the individual officer to discuss as part of their interviews with the household, we've now hard, hard wired that and it's asked of every applicant, as paragraph 12 says is around only about 4% of children have such a plan.

so the majority of the time the households that apply to say no, but we are asking that question and where it is answered by the parent, and clearly they would know that prompts the liaison with our colleagues in Children's Services to make sure that where we are placing into temporary accommodation and particularly in another area those referral pathways,

the transfer of the plan, etc flow smoothly.

Councillor Mr Graham,

have you got your Michael?

I welcome the on says that you've given Councillor Rigby in the fact that when a parent says that to you.

you immediately contact the

education the Children's Services, whereas that was a weakness before, because it is an area that is very important now, thank you, thank you, Chair,

OK, Councillor givenDear.

thank you Chair.

but do two things, one is that I note that the paper is not going to go to children's services, but I can instantly timetables gone a bit skew-whiff because of elections, but I'm assuming that the Children's Services Department has given it the same degree of serious consideration as we have.

the scale of compensation awarded is quite quiet significant I know,

this is not run of the mill compensation slept on the rest of compensation from Ombudsman. In my own experience, it's been some time and I probably can't remember at any time when five figure sum has been awarded by the ombudsman, so I think we need to as Members, we need to note the seriousness of it, so my specific

it is worth http, and that's really where the issues about HSP not being up to date and timely at the Education and and how does housing makes sure that where there is any doubt about the appropriateness so update up-to-date nurse of the HSP, they use their endeavour best endeavours to to to to break at logjam.

there was no questioning the algae doubting his report that the HSP wasn't up today it was around the transfer of the HSE Peter, the second council that was queried, but we were found not at full in relation to that.

yeah, I appreciate that I appreciate that, but I think in the lessons learned in, particularly in the context of where families with children would be at CPR involved.

as a plot to future, what steps are we making sure we take where education hasn't done it, because they often doubt?

delays. I understand that, but when there are those delays and delays, homelessness as well, that we use our best endeavours to try and broker Bridcutt substitute, come on that that I just want it and assurance, I'm not to blame or anything of that sort.

yeah, we undertook sufficient training to there are, Sir, ongoing training taking place with the Housing department, we've also changed our paperwork, so both both services have changed their paperwork, we've also close the gap between education, housing and early help to make sure that all of those services have the same information on all of their forms to make sure these children don't drop through the gaps.

so so you know, we've we've undertaken everything that the LGA are asked us to do,

OK, thank you very much, OK, thank you.

Councillor Chair, just to answer that was given to a report and a conversation, the Ombudsman's rationale for the high amount of compensation orders as set out paragraph 100, and basically the bulk of at 10,000 pounds is based on their calculation that 500 pounds a month for the 20 months they found the accommodation provided by the Department to be unsuitable would be the factor so tender and that's higher as they note there than there 1 50 to 3 50 tariff normally applied because of the

facts of the case, so that's why you get nearly 14,000 pounds of conversation, but I think this case is.

and the facts of the case are.

rare, so I think, viewed through that lens, it's perhaps unsurprising, on the basis of their thoughts, found that the compensation should be higher than we may have seen in the past.

thank you, Councillor shame.

thank you, my question is about how best practice is shared between different local authorities, because it seems inconceivable to me that something like this hasn't happened elsewhere and it has happened elsewhere.

why was it allowed to happen here, why weren't lessons learnt from that and you know why, haven't we been able to learn those lessons and presumably in the future other local authorities may make a similar mistake, and how is our current best practice which we've learned from the mistakes that had been made, how is that going to be communicated well, the local authority so that other unfortunate people aren't placed in the same position as Mrs X?

thank you, Councillor.

it's fair question and I think it's also fair to say the Ombudsman in recent times by thousand ombudsman of the local government, social care ombudsman have been more proactive in publishing their findings so they they send out a monthly compendium of cases and part of the kind of speaking for them, which is not really my role but part of their purpose I think in requiring a report like this is to maximise the coverage that they're findings in this type of case get so they are circulating this information more widely through digital means and so on.

we monitoring, as does the Corporate complaints team, so where we see issues in other councils we will read them, we will will sort Aviva breathed a sigh of relief that that couldn't happen here or will pick it up and think actually that's a weakness in our own processes there isn't a systematic way that the borough has come together that I know of and analyze these findings it's left to individual borrowers to pick up on the

the broader distribution of their findings, as I mentioned.

thank you, OK, no more questions, so are can we support the recommendations I NB?

yeah, OK, thanks, so, moving back to item number 6, which is the Housing annual resources paper date of birth, yes, thank you, thank you Chair, so this paper, for particularly for Members needed to the Committee, comes at this time each year.

it's got a number of purposes, it gives you a backwards, look to the previous financial year, how do we do what we're our numbers?

but it also takes forward look into the now current year and, importantly, sets forecasts for the council's use of temporary accommodation for statutory.

under its statutory duties, it seeks support for the lettings plan so.

and the forecast for rehousing opportunities, so how many properties do we think we're going to get of what type of what size and that factors in a range of sources supply, so the new build under 1,000 homes scheme?

rillettes falling over optimistically or as a result of transfer private sector properties that we might be pulling into helps address homelessness issues, and so on.

so just to give a whistlestop tour of the paper.

starting with the homelessness position, you will know that we are in the eye of the storm of a homelessness.

crisis, as many have called it, paragraph 9 here reports the facts that numbers in temporary accommodation in England are the highest, they've ever been lessons, they've been recorded in a systematic way by the ministry and of course that problem is is much much more chronic in London where the 32 London boroughs,

provide 56% of all temporary accommodation in England, so that really shows it is a London focused issue.

the paper goes on to talk about what happened last year, we were successful in slowing the rate of increase, so paragraph 14 shows that our increase last year in the use of temporary accommodation went up by 6% compared to 11% before in 20 27% in the year before that.

that is on the back of the investment made in large part in the summer of 22 when when additional posts were added, and it's given us the chance, and this sort of does overlap with the

the findings of the ombudsman, it's given us the chance, in particular, to reduce our running caseload and that is critical to allowing the officers to have sufficient time and space to do prevention work to deal with people in a more detailed way just that extra time allows those those improvements.

I won't go through order all of the information provided in here.

in terms of the current year, we are predicting a decrease in the use of temporary accommodation, modest decrease of, and this is the tables table 7 and 8 at around paragraphs 68 and 69 modest decrease of next 77 I say modest, but in context that is quite an achievement if we achieve it would be quite notable, almost all borrowers are seeing increases.

many borrowers.

are seeing a increased use of bed and breakfast in contravention to legal duties, we and the teams have actually reduced our use of bed and breakfast in the last year and we keep it very low and we do not breach the the legal requirement not to use it for families for longer than six weeks.

private over to the lettings position last year we got 1,200 just over 1,200 properties.

which was think.

getting close to the forecast.

this year we are predicting, and this is.

table 13.

and

yeah table 13, we are predicting just under 4,800 units of accommodation becoming available just by the by one of the advantages of this committee slipping.

to today's date is we've now had three months of activity and that forecast is holding up quite well, but after three months of the year we've had, which was 25% the year, we've had 24% forecast, so that's looking OK at this point of the year.

so the its forecast of 1,781 properties from all sources it is proposed that they be distributed across the housing queues, in line with the lettings plan, which is summarised tabled 13 under paragraph 1 to 3.

and then the paper moves on for a number of additional staffing matters, as the paper sets out, we are seeing continuing pressure and challenges both locally and more broadly, in London.

hopefully the additional staffing recommended are justified, so looking at the property management team as an example paragraphs 1 36 onwards, and the table there, you will see the very large increase.

the fact that a doubling of the of of the portfolio the team manage, and we are proposing to officers there, so hopefully in that theme you will, you can be satisfied that these new posts are essential if we are to maintain the progress we have made.

and that, I think Chair is the summary of the paper

should mentioned that we are in an effort to obtain more leased accommodation, more accommodation from private sector landlords, proposing enhanced incentives and packages to landlords these will set out in the tables.

around tables 16.

17 18 and 19, and these will be critical to bring in.

new and more economic accommodation because, as set out in the Director of Finance reports,

the comments we are seeing severe pressure upward pressure, inflationary pressure on the rates we are paying for, what we call licensed accommodation or nightly paid accommodation where the market is super-hot, and it's putting severe pressure on the budgetary position so hopefully Chair, that's a sufficient introduction myself or my colleagues Mr Nazir miss Chote.

to Heads of Service responsible for these areas will be happy to answer any questions Members may have thank you, thank you, I think if we can keep our eye on the time and keep our question snapping shop from from now.

Councillor MacLeod

thank you.

thank you, I have been on them on this committee since I was elected, so that's what six years and it fills fairly relentless these the numbers of people we've got in temporary accommodation going up, and all that sort of thing it feels fairly relentless so to see the forecast saying a reduction I actually find it quite.

pleasantly surprising is this one was the last time we had a forecast reduction like that.

don't take, this is entirely accurate, I would think you are looking at least a decade.

that's been the reality, so you're going back a significant period of time.

Councillor Mrs Graham,

am following on from Councillor MacLeod.

we've put 12,000 pounds into an initiative, haven't you?

when did it begin and?

the, I suppose it started in in April, I suppose what I really want to know is how how things are going on and is it being successful.

sorry, because this is a very it's in paragraph 1 6 to UK, unless I'm up a Gumtree, it's I've got 1 5 2, as a result, the Council sees reduction in number of landlords and and you are arguing 12,000 pounds as an initiative.

to try and increase the visibility of letting schemes, and that's in 1 6 2.

thank you.

13 months that we and it's been an ongoing campaign, so we've been doing a soft campaign on social media, so it's been a constant campaign that we've been doing, and it's it yields lots of interest, but some we've only had to take up as a result of that spend so hence that's why we wanted to look at the incentive because it looks like what landlords would like is higher incentives, higher rents, because it's a very challenging market out, therefore landlord and for terms of mortgage changes, so that's but trying lots of different things and getting lots of different feedback from landlords as a result, but we were trying to make our campaign a lot more visible throughout the map and balding's. I read them Hall and we pad

campaigned via Twitter an analysis of what makes landlords come to us, and even all that analysis we did, we had more people coming to us looking for properties rather than giving us properties, so it's kind of ongoing were saying what works, the best we looked at all our leaflets, we look to see what colours we looked at language that we're looking at everything.

and it's a constant review of what we're trying to do,

so can I just say, Have you had some successes with this new initiative readers woke the with the campaign that we had about 2 3 uptake?

interesting that we pretended landlord shows it's just challenging, so it's been very limited success, considered how much we've spent.

please, yeah, go ahead, thank you.

1 3 6 property management teams, page 70 I'm looking at the shared.

the SSA with the boroughs you've got Richmond and Wandsworth when I read this, it looks as if the hostels and properties acquired under private sector.

dear to full-time equivalent staff, which you are.

adding to the to the team.

are they for once, was only or how much Osei?

at that time spent in Richmond, I'd I'd like get clarification, because to me, wants us is once was and with you to full-time equivalents, I'd like them in our Wandsworth, yes, thank you, thank you, Councillor so.

I should have mentioned that the staffing, where the staffing proposals before you tonight.

half a post jointly funded with Richmond.

that borough has already approved their element of the funding, so there's just just for context, really for these posts, it's done in relation to the proportion of properties, so that falls 75% once with 25% Richmond. So as part of the essay the golden rule is that you know each borrower's budgets, our sovereign, so we've done that analysis and that's how those posts are split.

thank you Chair.

how your full questions I can be very quick, he has great Richmond, has it isn't has a housing association and its managed not by the Council, and that's why I also have a confusion in this paragraph we just clarify property management team here.

but only managed temporary accommodation for both borrowers, they're not connected with permanent rehousing, which enrichment, as you say, is undertaken by the housing association against the giving you, thank you, Chair Michelle, got, Mr Wells will remember my point about paragraph 53, so when he's got a memory those figures,

clients turn to.

h t at paragraph 25 ways reference to paper 22 1 6 1, which established a fair number of posts I mean, this is a question of asked before, so of the 23 posts established, how many have been fully recruited to and what has been the retention record of those the of those posts

thanks, Councillor, I can't be specific to those posts.

but what I can say here now is that those posts were approved were fulfilled through the recruitment campaign we did, I have approved effectively in July and we got them out to advert in the August and I think we reported we, we had to move filled by September November time something like that and I can't then say because I don't have the information what happened to those individual post certainly a number of them.

my instinct would be, maybe half of them are still filled by the people who were appointed originally our turnover rate.

in my area, is running at about 14%, so that will give you an indication, I think I can ask our HR colleagues to go back and do that quite detailed analysis of what happened to the people who were appointed back then.

if it would be helpful, but hopefully my question, but my answer

give some context to to to your question

so of the 23 person, although any vacancies in that section currently, yes, we're running with vacancies in those sections, the homelessness prevention team, under Ms choke, I think, has got eight vacancies at the moment,

out of how many eight out of 29.

quite a significant vacancy, it is.

it is, it is a perpetual challenge, we get good staff.

we've trained them and then you know there is much more movement in the sector than say five years ago.

people are more mobile, the job has become tougher and part of it, and you know you have to be honest in this paper, highlights it, you know the paper references the progress made in the year to reduce case loads and getting those case loads down, particularly amongst that team is absolutely essential to staff retention. if I'm coming into work in that role,

and I've got 70 80 cases.

you know, please don't tell me, I'm struggling with those because I know I am if I'm coming in and I've got 35 40 then I would feel and my managers would feel that I've got a fair chance of of dealing with those cases in in a satisfactory way so now that we have reduced the caseload as much as we have as detailed in this paper, hopefully the churn in that team will reduce.

we are a great moment, Mr work, I mean I get your point but site

the 23 posts were added because of the same argument you made about the caseload and so on, and so Members agreed that you could have those numbers, you've got those numbers or you have failed to recruit to that, and therefore consequently the case load is higher than it would be if you'd been able to recruit and retain the full 23 compliment my not right.

partially so, but what I think you're familiar and wrong, what I think your commentary, Mrs Councillor, is that during that period we have seen increased demand, so it's not a standstill position.

yeah, that's factors, as reported by the numbers.

and you know what I would say is where do you recruit that many staff, as I said we got them in in roughly speaking, October November 22, some of whom we went out and appointed on potential and soft skills rather than technical knowledge so there was training,

sorry, it's taken us until this time, roughly 15 18 months to work on getting the average caseload down, we've now achieved that and it puts us in a much better position than we were, so I think your comment is fair to an extent, but you know I think,

if your question implies that this should have been done earlier, then I think that's where I might respectfully disagree.

okay and then paragraph about 53, which betrays the this morning about members, it's inquiry across the two and, as Ian says, and you said, you were going to give us a breakdown of this figures.

yes, so am.

I was looking earlier to try and find the borough, which would give you those details, I will find it but have found it yet. My memory is those 18 100 odd members' enquiries from the two boroughs were roughly split 3,500 from ones with councillors and 300 from Richmond, so

you know, I take the point made earlier, the in future, if we're reporting that we will make it Borough specific, but those are the rough numbers from from memory, and I think I'm there or thereabouts

it cannot Rigby please yeah so one of the largest temporary accommodation places is in my ward in Balham and for for many years we tried to get a laundrette there because the families had no way of doing now washing autism pain quite a lot of money as a laundrette, the children also had nowhere to play just concrete and so I was delighted that when Labour came to power in 2022 we were able to change.

we were able to change the culture and to bring some facilities, could you just tell me how the what the feedback Spain on Nightingale square place?

hello yeah, thank you, thank you, I think the feedback has been very good that, as far as I understand, the laundry is used on a regular basis and there's been no concerned or no issues, and the feedback has been positive.

thank you, Councillor fraud,

in paragraph 48, says at the end of March and there are were a thousand 751.

properties available in the private sector market, but only five of those properties were within the Local Housing Allowance, could you just explain how the all ha has impacted are homelessness figures?

it's a matter of lots of commentary.

but basically I like Che, has not kept up with the market it was frozen for many years,

and therefore the reach of it in terms of what properties we not just ask, but families facing homelessness and reliance on welfare benefits could secure as dwindled to almost nothing.

so it is a big contributory factor into the homelessness position that we find ourselves in both locally and regionally, and it's something which obviously has attracted a lot of debate and discussion in more recent times, can I just ask why the NHS was frozen, my memory is, it was part of the cuts to public sector funding.

at the time.

Councillor Austin,

thank you very much, Chair

sorry, it just pricked my ears up and when you're saying that you incentive scheme, and if my business paid out 4,000 pounds for every landlord we got, that would be a significant KPI problem and not be bankrupt fairly quickly, I have a stock issue on,

achieving landlords in the private rented sector, but rents have gone up 22% in the last in 23 and an 11% so far this year, and demand has increased, so why are we having difficulty getting landlords to come to us here at once with Council and and stick with the private sector?

it's more trusted Councillor, so we can't compete financially on our current incentives, then you have the phenomena well known that a number of private sector landlords choose not to work with.

tenants who are partially or fully reliant on welfare benefits. That's a known fact, we know that in this borough rents are high, we know that landlords have you know,

almost infinite choice over who they let to. So what we are looking to do here is to improve our offer to get more properties in

the incentives are generous but compared to what we are paying for temporary accommodation, which can be, and often is, of very poor quality, and very often now, as the paper says, nearly half of it is out of the borough.

those incentive rates will still save the Council serious amounts of money just to give you an example, I saw an e-mail today from one of our housing providers who was offering us a five bedroom house, great it's in Luton, and they wanted at 135 pounds per night for that property.

yeah, so whatever it adds up to.

over 900 pounds a week, what we could probably charge the occupant

we might put in there in terms of rent would probably be closer to 300 pounds so we'd be losing 600 pounds a week on that and a five bedroom household if placed there could be expect to be there for many, many years so that's why these incentives may appear generous but financially they stack up and they work and if we can deliver them it will reduce significantly the really serious budget pressures that are outlined in the Director of Finance comments.

thank you, can we move to agree to support the recommendations I to I note sorry.

no sorry Jora on on the recommendations. We cannot support the Budget variation to establish new posts when the previous experience shows that previously established posts have not been able to recruit to posts yeah, Councillor convenience, Councillor ticket items, gonna, I'll say something here but also if we can just tell me which one you that one vote against so we can put killed.

it's a budget various yeah came just listened to Councillor dictum fast place. I just really want to make it very clear to any of the public who are watching that there is a structural issue that has just been articulated by Dave worth in which councils are queuing up going bust based on the cost of temporary accommodation because of the structural issue in the homelessness crisis,

the paper we just had from the ombudsman report, which is a really humbling paper, articulates what happens when staff are overworked, that investment that we do at the moment we came in to increase the number of staff that we have is vital and I think it's really important to notice that it's the backlog that has been dealt with is really crucial as well as the overall caseload now this job is incredibly difficult. We have taken voluntary sector, work is down to the Putney office to do tours of it. When you visit that office you see people in the most difficult state you often giving them bad news, as they've just pointed out, you're trying to 5 5 bedroom homes, you find out one of them in Luton, we have a policy in this Council of consents on outside of London but often were placing people outside of borough, which is a very difficult conversation to have.

we it's essential that we are staffing up so that we can secure the overall reduction in temperate combination, this is the first time in a decade that this paper brought to Committee is showing a forecast of negative 77 negative numbers for the first time in a decade, so I would really suggest that the opposition support this paper, but because this is about trying to deliver in one of the most difficult structure environments that I think Local government has ever faced, that would just be my my two centres the Cabinet Member.

can you tell me which item you can't support or block of items you can't support, thank you Chair, just just responded, Councillor Councillor, but we're running out of time, so if you can be really really quick well, yes, the the additional posts were going to be increase in introducing the pipeline officers will tell you long before the change of administration.

so I accept the argument and making, but all I'm saying is, I'm not that they give a consent to spending more money, which is a two-point Hay wow when the previous agreed budget variations have not been fully utilised, I think it's about a shot across the bows of getting our processes right and getting some discipline into recruitment and retention. That's my challenge and therefore I think reluctantly all I'd say is I suppose that the rest of it's fine

I and we can move through work, then so just I do you want to vote against to right so.

so we so can we vote on be to I ruling in favour, and so can we vote on, I suppose, in favour I.

who's against?

just to

okay and free, OK, fine Chairman, I mean the end of the meeting, I really am flagging, and so I am going to take your leave, so thank you very much for your indulgence at me this evening but I really can't OK, Les Gray okay can also move on to the narrowest item place which is item I should leasehold and freehold reform paper and this one

yeah, I think if we just go straight to questions place.

questions.

no questions out we do have one question is how will the Council keep leaseholders informed and what about privately told us?

sorry, can you repeat that I was just wondering what the microphone was doing, sorry very quickly, so how will council how will covers cable leaseholders informed about the changes in the implementation of the changes, and is there anything specific to say about private leaseholders, not just Councillor leaseholders?

so obviously this papers were in from the previous government and since then the king, The King's speech, is included new new information that might be in the new Bill, but this paper went to the Borough residents Forum, so that's how we're keeping residents informed and obviously if we if we do another Bill with an update on what's in what's in the Act then that will also go to the above residents Forum and this applies,

more to pivot leasehold, I would say, than ours, than our leaseholders in in council housing, but equally we we were applies to both,

OK, can we note the paper, yeah, OK so moving on to paper Item number 9, which is the Corporate Plan?

can we go to questions on that?

Councillor cache is there a timeline on improving transparency of service charges?

maybe I can pick that up to ensure it would normally be addressing this year we might call or progress in this regard, I think so, as as was mentioned earlier, we had a very lively, well informed discussion at the Borough residents Forum, with presentation from both the Director of Finance and,

the Director of Housing Management presentation, outlining exactly how our process works, the different information is provided, the accuracy of that information, the number of challenges that we've received, the fact that, whenever we've gone to a First-tier Tribunal are practices have tended to be endorsed, but also acknowledging that it's massively difficult and challenging time for leaseholders with escalating costs and the need to bear that in mind. Reference made to obviously the changes that we've got to residential leaseholders making repayments and may be looking at that. So as a consequence of all those things focus group made up of leaseholders from the Area, Housing panels is going to be put together. We've already asked for volunteers and we can go through these things in a little bit more detail to make sure that we can make necessary improvements. But I suppose in essence, one of the things that was quite good to be able to show is that, as part of the recent resident survey, satisfaction amongst leaseholders is up at 65% at the moment, and that is remarkable in the current circumstances, and in London in particular, most most other landlords will be done in the 20s and 30s, so we're not complacent, it's massive issue, but we have made quite a lot of progress and I think, with the focus group, will continue to improve that through regular reports back to the Borough residents Forum, which would also look at stuff like the level of service charge. So we did some work again to confirm that our service charges across London for routine services are actually considerably lower than every other London Borough that we spoke to and half the cost of ourselves and probably less than that of the of private sector service charges. So, as is about 11 100 pounds most other borrowers up around 1900 to 2000 and obviously, private sector service charges are much higher than that, so hopefully that reassures you that we're on it, and improvements will be made in the focus group is made up of leaseholders

can we support recommendations A to C okay?

moving on to the final paper, we've got about 30 seconds for the good of the key theme comes down, but the asset management strategy shall we move straight to questions, so any questions

okay, so can we support recommendations Atterby Egan?

so again, can we request details on damp and mould issues?

away from this away from this meeting, sorry the way from this major English, you want it now.

yeah, we did a fantastic brilliant OK, well, thank you for your indulgence, we finished just on time, so thank you very much.

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Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee - Wednesday 17 July 2024, 7:30pm - Wandsworth Council Webcasting

Housing Overview and Scrutiny CommitteeWednesday, 17th July 2024 at 7:30pm

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Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Wednesday, 17th July 2024 at 7:30pm