Streatham left behind in housing changes - again

Palace Road estate

Streatham is receiving a second class service from Lambeth Council, despite three of the wards in Streatham being represented by Liberal Democrat Councillors, the party that runs Lambeth Council. Streatham is the last of Lambeth’s Town Centres to have the so-called ‘reframing’ changes introduced. The reframing project, involves the closure of fifteen full-time housing Neighbourhood Offices, to be replaced by just 5 area offices and a Lambeth wide call-centre.

Labour Councillors in Streatham South sought assurances from the reframing team and from Liberal Cllr Keith Fitchett, the Executive Member for Housing, that Streatham would not be ignored, despite being earmarked for the changes last. This included pledges that all of Streatham’s best housing staff would remain in post and not be drafted to other parts of the Borough. But as the Labour Councillors feared, many staff have now been replaced with temps. The most important meeting for tenants to have their voices heard – the Neighbourhood Forums – are regularly cancelled.

But worst of all, the Streatham Area Housing office does not have the correct management structure to deliver a decent service even if it wanted to. Incredibly, there is currently no Area Manager, no Deputy Area Manager and no Interim Manager. The situation is so desperate that the housing department’s lead official on reframing is having to work two days a week in the Streatham office, just to keep it going.

Mrs Evelyn Ervine, a resident of Colmer Rd Streatham, has been waiting since JULY to have her broken stair repaired.

“The housing office has promised me time and time again that they would send round someone to fix the stair but they still haven’t. I’ve been waiting for nearly three months now and it’s very dangerous. And it’s all because there aren’t enough staff at the Streatham office. It’s absolutely disgusting.”

Cllr John Kazantzis, Labour’s Lead Spokesperson for Housing and a Labour Councillor in Streatham South ward said:

“Yet again the rest of Lambeth is being give special treatment by the Council at the expense of Streatham. It is simply unfair that Streatham is having its best staff stolen just so that the rest of Lambeth can survive. It’s all just a con to make the reframing project look like its working when it isn’t. Housing offices are being reduced by two-thirds and the Lib Dems claim that it won’t matter because there’ll be a caller centre instead.”

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