New year, new director and new focus for Southwark’s housing

With a stock of 55,000 properties and a waiting list of 17,000, managing Southwark Council's housing is no mean feat. New starter Gerri Scott has taken up the challenge as she begins her new role as director of housing services this week.

Gerri and cabinet member for housing, Ian Wingfield, will work together to address the biggest issues facing the borough:

Gerri Scott, director of housing services for Southwark Council said, "Things will not stay the same; I feel that answering complaints, improving repairs, turning around empty properties, collecting rent, supporting vulnerable residents and keeping estates clean are all about great customer service. For most residents, their priority is to see a helpful, interactive, polite and listening approach to their needs. I want to instigate great performance management to achieve this over the coming years."

Councillor Ian Wingfield, cabinet member for housing, said: "I have no doubt that Gerri's expertise in managing authorities' complex housing issues will see the aspirations we have for the borough come to fruition; to focus on what residents want to see happen over the coming year and beyond."The council has already agreed to prioritise the following throughout coming year and beyond.

The council intends to continue to deliver front line services but in a structurally smarter way. Many facets of the service will be brought together to provide a new department which can respond to residents' needs together.

Housing repairs

With so many homes to maintain, and around 300,000 calls each year to the housing repairs centre, maintaining high standards of work as well as keeping track is essential. The council is committed to driving up standards and will continue to improve how it monitors its performance. More power will be given to front line staff, enabling them to answer stage one complaints as well as day-to-day repairs. Closer communications with residents can be expected. 

Illegal occupancy

The council is currently looking into ways to address the issue of illegal occupancy and plans are in place to tackle the issue head on in the very near future. The extent of the problem of illegal subletting was confirmed by a two-year programme of tenancy checks; nearly 1,000 cases are currently under investigation and 300 homes have already been recovered from illegal occupants.

Hidden homes, finding new stock

In difficult financial times, the council is looking for innovative solutions to the shortage of homes, such as the Hidden Homes scheme, which converts old laundries or office spaces in housing blocks into brand new homes.

Housing investment and redevelopment

As fast as the council makes properties decent, the same number of homes falls below standard. To address this, the council has already agreed to look at the estates which are most costly to maintain (just 10% of Southwark's housing stock takes up 20% of the council's entire pot of money to provide housing for all across the borough). Where possible, estates could be redeveloped into top quality housing. This will only be done only after extensive consultation with residents.