Homes for Lambeth limps on with the Labour Cabinet head nodding through another £9m for the failed Council owned company brixtonbuzz.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from brixtonbuzz.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Construction works on a Lambeth estate are so loud tormented residents cannot hear each other over the dinner table, while their windows are vibrating from the constant drilling. Homes for Lambeth (HfL), the council’s wholly owned building company, is redeveloping South Lambeth Estate as part of its controversial ‘regeneration programme’. Most of the estate, except for the ten-storey Wimborne House, is set to be demolished to make way for 362 new homes. Phase 1 of the redevelopment, led by HfL, involves a block in the carpark in front of Wimbourne House, providing 30 homes, 18 at council rent. But residents say the works have been beset by a catalogue of errors, delays, and poor communication.
Lambeth Council has loaned a further £5.5 million to its wholly-owned house building company, added to £5 million loaned last year. It comes as a progress report on Homes for Lambeth’s business plan for 2020-23, approved by cabinet on March 15, stated a lack of resident support was a “likely” risk to its regeneration programme. The council’s controversial programme, run by HfL, is focused on six estates, including Westbury, Knights Walk, South Lambeth, Central Hill, Cressingham Gardens, and Fenwick. The loaned money is expected to be paid back out of “project surpluses”, profit made from the new homes. But the Green opposition, who are against the demolition of the estates, have warned it is a risky strategy and HfL could end up like Croydon’s failing housing company Brick by Brick.