Agenda item

The cabinet member for new homes and sustainable development to present the theme for the meeting.

Councillor Helen Dennis, Cabinet Member for new homes and sustainable development, presented the motion in the themed debate.

Councillor Emily Tester, the opposition spokesperson, responded to the motion and proposed Amendment A.

Following debate (Councillors Esme Hickson, Barrie Hargrove, Victor Chamberlain, Suzanne Abachor, David Watson, Leo Pollak, Richard Livingstone and Joseph Vambe) Councillor Helen Dennis responded to the debate.

Amendment A was put to the vote and declared to be ­Lost.

The motion was put to the vote and declared to be Carried.

RESOLVED:

Renewing our borough: a strategy for building the homes and infrastructure we need

1.  Council Assembly believes that:

a.  Everyone should be able to afford somewhere they can call home. And that delivering new, high quality social rent, including council homes, and other genuinely affordable homes, should be central to this Council’s ambitions and plans;

b.  That transport and community infrastructure is essential in order to support existing and new residents in our borough, and to help us achieve wider priorities such as tackling the climate emergency, reducing inequality, and creating decent jobs;

c.  The Council should use every tool available in order to secure delivery of new homes and the infrastructure that residents need;

d.  The Council will need to work with a wide range of partners in different ways, from voluntary and community groups, public organisations, and developers, in order to further increase the social and affordable housebuilding and infrastructure we need in Southwark.

2.  Council Assembly notes that:

a.  Under Conservative and Liberal Democrat governments we have had 14 years of under-investment in housing and infrastructure, and policies such as the Benefit Cap which have driven an increase in homelessness and numbers on the council’s housing waiting list;

b.  That under the Conservatives, the UK has experienced the lowest levels of investment of any G7 country;

c.  Building genuinely affordable homes was hugely impacted by the Coalition’s decision in 2010 to reduce the affordable housing grant by 60%;

d.  Housebuilding has completely collapsed across London as a result of Conservative economic mismanagement, with a 90% fall in affordable housing starts in 23/24;

e.  The Conservative government turned its back on London, failing to back the Bakerloo Line Extension, and failing to invest properly in the nation’s capital despite some of the highest levels of deprivation;

f.  The Labour Party has a plan to get Britain building again with 1.5 million new homes and will build more high-quality, well-designed, and sustainable homes along with the infrastructure our communities need.

3.  Council Assembly also notes:

a.  That the Labour administration has a plan for delivering genuinely affordable new homes in Southwark. That in 2023-24, 550 social rent homes were completed in Southwark, the highest number in London, and that last year we granted planning permission for a further 794 social rent homes in Southwark;

b.  That the Old Kent Road opportunity area in particular is delivering new homes at a pace, achieving over 50% affordable homes on sites which are completed or on site to date;

c.  That Southwark is building more council homes than any other council in the country, with 3,000 new council homes either completed or currently on site;

d.  That our Estate Renewal programmes on the Aylesbury, Tustin and Ledbury Estates are driven by the need for good quality homes for our residents which are sustainable and fit for the future. And that the First Development Site on the Aylesbury Estate is delivering 581 new council homes for local residents;

e.  That whilst the economic recession has affected our ability to deliver new council homes over the last year, the Labour administration has a viable plan to start bringing forward new homes on additional sites, whilst prioritising investment from our Housing Revenue Account (HRA) into existing stock;

f.  That the Labour administration also has plans to bring forward Keyworker Homes, dedicated homes for older residents, a new nursing home, to expand Housing First, and to facilitate the delivery of Community Land Trusts in Southwark.

4.  In addition, Council Assembly notes:

a.  That this Labour administration is among other things delivering:

  i.  Over £70m of investment via Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy (SCIL) into the Elephant & Castle tube upgrade;

  ii.  Additional investment via SCIL into wider station improvements, including at Elephant & Castle Overground Station and Peckham Rye;

  iii.  Significant investment into preparatory work for the Bakerloo Line Extension, and spearheading the Back the Bakerloo campaign with other London Councils;

  iv.  Investment in improvements to our streets including more cycle storage and new pedestrian crossings via our Streets for People strategy;

  v.  A new leisure centre at Canada Water, whilst also opening up Greenland Dock for supervised swimming this summer;

  vi.  New libraries across Southwark including the new Una Marson library on the Aylesbury Estate;

  vii.  Plans for new integrated Health Hubs across the borough including on the Aylesbury, at Canada Water and at Elephant & Castle;

  viii.  A refurbished Walworth Town Hall, following the devastating fire in 2013 with new workspace and community space;

  ix.  Plans for a new LGBTQ+ Cultural Centre as part of the Native Land development at Bankside;

  x.  Innovative community partnership projects with groups like Livesey Exchange and Kingswood Arts;

  xi.  A new home for our Southwark Young Advisers coming soon at 231 Old Kent Road;

  xii.  A new home for the Southwark Pensioners’ Centre, supported through SCIL;

  xiii.  The extension of SELCHP to reduce our carbon emissions and connect more homes and organisations to this low-carbon source of heating and hot water;

  xiv.  Improved, and new, parks through development, such as the Bramcote Park project and 12 acres of new open space at Canada Water.

b.  That this Labour administration set up the Southwark Land Commission, the first of its kind in London, to look at how we could free up more public land for public good.

c.  That through development in Southwark, we have not only secured tens of millions of pounds in investment through Community Infrastructure Levy but have also benefited from additional council tax and business rates receipts which support our General Fund and keep our frontline services going.

5.  Council Assembly therefore resolves to support the council in:

a.  Bringing forward the next phase of its New Homes Programme, including the delivery of new council homes, keyworker homes, a new nursing home, and backing local people to build genuinely affordable homes via a Community Land Trust pilot scheme;

b.  Continuing to maximise the delivery of social rent homes through development in accordance with planning policy and always pushing developers to go further;

c.  Responding to what residents say they need and setting out further plans for capital investment in the borough; and to support its bids to other funders such as TfL and the department for transport (DfT);

d.  Campaigning for the Bakerloo Line Extension, and in discussions with the Mayor of London about implementing the ‘Bakerloop’ bus;

e.  Responding to the Southwark Land Commission including through the establishment of a Southwark Land Partnership, development of ‘affordable workspace hubs’, and identification of ‘pilot sites’ to test new models of community participation;

f.  Setting out the process this autumn for a further round of local CIL allocations, whilst preparing the way for a new framework designed to maximise impact and reduce inequality;

g.  Working with the new government to ensure that policies are fit for purpose and that the sustainable Future of Council Housing is especially high on its agenda.