HOMENews from Lewisham Homes Issue 37 | June 2021 NEW COMMUNITY STORE New community Building for supermarket opens Lewisham Providing food and other 14 sites, 293 new homes for essentials to local residents social rent in the borough WELCOME A message from Margaret Dodwell, CEO Welcome to the summer 2021 issue of Home magazine. In the pages that follow you can read LAST ISSUE news and useful information from Lewisham Homes, covering all areas of our activity in the borough. This includes community This is going to be the last issue initiatives, our new council house of Home magazine that we print building programme, our action and post. In future, to keep plan for fire and building safety, you up to date with all things and much more. Lewisham Homes, we will be I would like to take this opportunity sending a monthly newsletter by to thank you all for your patience email. To make sure you receive over the past year or so where all it, sign in to the resident portal – our lives have been dominated by (portal.lewishamhomes.org.uk) the Covid-19 situation. We have asked most of our office staff to go to ‘Update my details’ and make sure you have chosen Margaret Dodwell work from home and adjusted our services in a number of ways ‘Yes’ to receive Home magazine Chief Executive to keep people safe, particularly by email. during the lockdown periods. As restrictions are lifted, I want to You can also sign up just assure you that our focus is on for the newsletter by providing an excellent and reliable emailing communications@ resident experience. lewishamhomes.org.uk with ‘Newsletter subscribe’ in the subject line Introducing Mark Newstead, our new Director of Property Services and Safety He says: ‘One of my most immediate priorities is ‘We are investing in implementing the requirements of making our repairs the government’s new Fire Safety and Building Safety bills across our service simpler and Mark joined Lewisham Homes multi-occupancy buildings. Over easier for our residents.’ early this year. He is responsible the coming weeks, we will provide you with more information on what for leading the property services the new safety regime means and and safety directorate, navigating give you a chance to discuss the ‘We have also introduced the safety agenda, managing our changes with us. Your views are a specialist damp in-house maintenance service important to us and we want to and ensuring our stock is look at how we can work together surveying resource as on keeping buildings safe.’ well-maintained. part of managing damp ‘In 2021/22 we are committed to investing £64m in improving our and condensation.’ properties, with a focus on safety, particularly fire doors.’ 2 HOME / JUNE 21 NEWS Our preparation for new fire and Lewisham Homes building safety legislation achieves 5* occupational Lewisham Homes has begun Lewisham Homes is also in the process of creating a new, health, safety and implementing an action plan to dedicated building safety team, in address new duties set out in the preparation for the Building Safety wellbeing rating Fire Safety Act 2021 and those bill becoming law. This will mainly expected to follow as the draft impact the tall buildings we manage Building Safety bill becomes law. (six storeys or more). As a result of the Fire Safety Act, Each high-rise building will have new fire risk assessments (FRAs) a named building safety manager will become more comprehensive who will be a point of contact and intrusive and will include for residents and ensure that consideration of the exterior all the requirements from the new regulator for social housing We have officially been of the building, including recognised as ‘excellent’ exterior balconies. are met. This will include annual certification for all tall buildings. after a British Safety Council The other major implication of Occupational Health and the act is the introduction of Our action plan seeks to move us Safety Audit. in the direction the legislation is regular fire doors checks on front The audit measures doors to individual flats and also travelling and build our competence and capacity to address its performance against communal fire doors, including key health and safety those on service cupboards. requirements. Over time, we will need to amend and update the management best The frequency has not yet been practice indicators and a specified, and will be dependent action plan as more details emerge from the government and the detailed review of over 60 on the type of block/height of component elements. the building, but these checks will new regulator. be a legislative requirement with We commit to keep residents access compulsory for all residents, informed, consulted with and able including leaseholders. to influence the operation and “This recognises our development of these services. positive health and safety culture and focus on well-being that we have developed in Fire safety: Lewisham Homes receives the Lewisham Homes BS9997 certification team. It’s a great foundation for us to build upon as we seek to Safety remains our top priority and we are proud to confirm that continuously improve and with our stringent management of complements the recent fire risk, we have received British achievement in being Standard 9997 certification. certified to BS9997 in The BS 9997 standard Fire Safety Management, sets the benchmark all housing and provides a solid providers should be working platform to meet our towards and we are proud to building safety duties.” be leading the way, as the first London local authority and only the second landlord in London to Margaret Dodwell, receive this certification. Lewisham Homes CEO 2 HOME / JUNE 21 HOME / JUNE 21 3 NEWS Building for Lewisham We are Lewisham Council’s Some 2,480 Lewisham families are Wherever we consider building, we in temporary accommodation, always consider the impact on local housing company and responsible of which over 750 people stay residents, and consult extensively for the delivery of its ambitious in nightly paid accommodation. through a variety of channels, social home building programme Building new homes means we including online conference launched by Damien Egan, are able to help families move out sessions, surveys, statutory mayor of Lewisham. Building of temporary and emergency consultations, on-site meetings housing into a home of their own. and more. for Lewisham will deliver much needed social homes for residents We are delighted to see the progress being made on the 14 most in need of housing. developments we currently have Housing is in short supply under construction, which will Building for Lewisham across Lewisham and creating provide 293 homes for social rent. Find out more about our new new council homes is crucial to In addition to these projects, we home building programme addressing the growing pressure have a further 770 homes across 15 on Lewisham Council’s waiting list. at lewishamhomes.org.uk/ sites in design and planning stages, new-homes and we expect to see more starts on site by the end of the year. 4 HOME / JUNE 21 NEWS Recladding and fire safety project nears completion Three tower blocks at Hatfield Close and Gerrard House This is now complete, with the final elements of fire- safe terracotta tiles and new windows installed being in New Cross were found to have combustible cladding just the finishing touches on a major programme of in 2017. This was removed immediately, and the towers improvements and fire safety upgrades. have since been subject to extensive refurbishment. Find out more about the project at bit.ly/lh-cladding Lewisham Homes hosts London Fire Brigade trainees On 18 March, London Fire Brigade trainee fire safety inspecting officers visited Hatfield Close in New Cross to view the new cladding system being installed. Lewisham Homes’ fire risk manager Charles Brown hosted the visit, alongside principal contractor United Living’s site manager Tom Weal. This is part of the on-going partnership working between Lewisham Homes and the London Fire Brigade. The visit was to give a continuing professional development input on the practical installation of an exemplar cladding system, to explain how the system is installed and how it is designed to prevent fire spread Charles Brown, Lewisham Homes fire risk manager, with over the façade of the building. The trainees also trainee London Fire Brigade fire safety inspecting officers inspected fire safety improvements installed internally within the block, such as automatic opening smoke ventilation and the new sprinkler system. 4 HOME / JUNE 21 HOME / JUNE 21 5 IN THE COMMUNITY Mayor of London and Lewisham Mayor visit Engaging with Evelyn Community Store tenants and leaseholders Following the launch of our new Resident Engagement Framework in October last year, we have seen an increase in engagement events. These engagement events are helping residents influence and shape the services you receive, and help us create new strategies and policies. We have also seen the creation of a number of new groups including the Leaseholder Forum which Sadiq Khan and Damien Egan were was launched in February joined by Labour Party leader Keir “The team at Lewisham’s of this year to improve Starmer to discuss food poverty Evelyn Community Store communications between with Lewisham mayoresses Dawn leaseholders and Lewisham Atkinson, Natasha Ricketts and show the best of London – Homes, and has now met Christina Norman. providing fresh, nutritious three times. The forum is The award-winning community independently chaired by store, which was created by the food at an affordable price Alan Wake, CEO of the Evelyn tenants and residents for local families.” National Leaseholders association and Lewisham Homes Group whose stated aim to provide locals on low incomes Sadiq Khan - Mayor of London is ‘improving standards in with affordable groceries, is run by leasehold management’.