Housing Matters
Yes it does!
Last Thursday evening saw a 'social' event for those of us on the Shadow Board ("shadow" until it formally comes into existence) of Lewisham Homes to meet candidates for the Cheif Executive's post.
Then a rush downstairs to join in a slightly odd Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting (that's all the councillors who aren't in the Cabinet - so Labour has a serious lack of majority there) which was deciding on a LibDem proposal to set up a scrutiny subcommittee for the apparent worthy purpose of looking at problems in Housing (repairs, rent collection, prompt re-letting, etc). "Apparently" worthy, because (I suspect) all they actually want to do is rake over the deficiencies (and there were quite a lot) found in a report, requested by the Council a few months ago from the Audit Commission, to help us identify what needed improving as we set up Lewisham Homes to do so. (The LibDems triumphantly "found" this public report before a recent Full Council meeting, then tried to use it to suggest that it was something quite different.)
Meanwhile, I'd much rather devote my time more positively to getting involved in running Lewisham Homes and improving things, than agonise about what the problems used to be. I think the Council's tenants and leaseholders (who are directly represented by the largest number of members of the Shadow Board, outnumbering councillors 7 to 3) would prefer that.
...and the evening wasn't over then! A rather long meeting of the Strategic Planning Committee then approved a vast new housing scheme (270 flats, I think, plus some shop units) to go on part of the Silk Mills Path site between Tesco's and the Greenwich border and Elverson Road DLR station.
By the same time the next night (Friday) I was well on my way to New Delhi, where I'll be until next weekend for a digital libraries conference. I'm in a rather strange hotel at the moment, and the building site next door seems to keep very late working hours for a Saturday (it's 7:45pm, although my laptop and blog are still on Lewisham time).
4 Comments:
hello john. i have heard about homes, could you explain a little about what it is? is it to do with housing problems or decent homes?
Hi kate. Lewisham Homes (the "ALMO" being setup in Lewisham) will take over most of the housing management functions from the Council - for the area it covers, which excludes some estates already managed by housing associations like Circle33. You'll need to ask the housing office you normally deal with if your current home is going to transfer (but if it is they should have sent you information about it already).
thanks i will contact my housing office.
Gone a bit quiet here. Given up on the experiment already?
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