Court of Common Council
Thursday 24 July 2025
Further debate on funding of the CoL’s Housing Investment Programme with reference to motion carried at June’s Court of Common Council.
Original motion proposed by Alderwoman Martha Grekos of Castle Baynard:
That this Honourable Court resolves that the City Corporation explores liquidating investments held within City’s Estate to fund the acceleration of the renovation of its housing estates, the continuing dilapidation of which is an ongoing scandal. This Court accordingly further resolves that its relevant committees be instructed now to bring forward proposals as to how this can be achieved as soon as possible.
During the debate, an amendment to the motion was proposed by Deputy Anthony Fitzpatrick of Lime Street and was ultimately carried:
That this Honourable Court resolves that the City Corporation explores all options to fund the acceleration of the renovation of its housing estates as their continuing dilapidation is an ongoing scandal. This Court accordingly further resolves that its relevant Committees be instructed now to bring forward proposals as to how this can be achieved as soon as possible.
Watch from 26:32
transcript
26:32 | Deputy John Fletcher (Portsoken)
After the last meeting of this Honourable court, a motion proposed by Alderwoman Martha Grekos may have inadvertently left the impression that nothing was currently being done to improve the unacceptable state of some of our social housing stock because required funding was not yet in place. Could the Chair please correct this impression and reassure Members, constituents, and especially our tenants, explaining how her Committee is getting stuck into the problem now rather than sitting back waiting for full funding?27:35 | Deputy Helen Fentiman (Aldersgate, Labour) – Chair Community and Children’s Services Committee
I thank the Honourable Member for notice of his question. At the last Court of Common Council, there was significant debate on the funding of the 10-year program of the Major Works Program across all our housing estates. The cost estimate for that is £205 million.For some months, the Chamberlain’s department and the team in the Department of Community and Children’s Services have been working incredibly hard to identify the funding required but at the time of that debate, Members would be made aware that this while significant proportion of the funds had been identified, there remained a shortfall of approximately £84 million in the Housing Investment Program. For the avoidance of doubt, myself and the Chair of Policy and Resources have been clear that we are committed to the delivery of this program and will absolutely make sure that this happens.
We receive regular updates on the funding options so we can see that swift progress has been made and as a result I am confident that this program will be fully funded. I’ve said before in this Court that we recognise that tenants have not previously been well served, indeed, we can say the same for our leaseholders. Through this program we will need to fulfil our responsibility to them so that they can live in decent, warm and safe homes and restore the trust in the City of London as their landlord.
I’m grateful for the ongoing dialogue with our Residents’ Associations and welcome their interest and involvement. Specifically for Golden Lane Estate, GLERA is a key partner in the recently established transformation group. Its first meeting is next week. This follows a similar model of resident involvement supporting our development and works on the Middlesex Street Estate and on Sydenam Hill.
As the delivery program becomes evident, residents will see that we are determined to improve their homes. I will continue to work with the team and Members of this Honourable Court to address the challenge of delivering this ambitious program. But to be clear, the commitment to this program is real, work has started. I’m confident that over the 10 years of the program, it will be funded and we expect to be able to share more detail of this by the end of this year.
31:12 | Susan Farrington (Castle Baynard)
I think despite what we’ve heard here today, it’s quite clear from what we have heard and seen over the last couple of days from residents that the state of social housing is deplorable. So would the Chair of the Communities and Children’s Services Committee accept that the Residential Reset is nothing more than a failed PR exercise and that what we really need is a clear planned fully funded action plan.31:51 | Deputy Helen Fentimen
I think we’ve made quite clear in this Court and in our committees that the condition of some of our social housing estates is very, very poor. Residents quite legitimately have made that clear to us and I think we have listened, we have understood the deplorable state of those homes and that is exactly why we have a £205 million program to secure improvements in those homes.I’m afraid I would not accept that the Residential Reset is a failed exercise. It is much broader than housing. The lead Member, Jackie Webster, has been doing enormous amount of work beyond the housing sphere, as I’ve said, to involve residents much more broadly in the business of living in the City, as well as the specific work in this Court of Common Council. I think that we can see some very significant tangible benefits. I’m quite sure that the resident lead for the reset would be very happy at a future occasion at this Court to make information available to all Members about the progress that is being made. But in advance of that, I’m sure it would be possible to issue a briefing note on the scope and breadth of that work and where residents are seen to be much more directly involved in our business than they were before the reset began.
33:18 | Deputy Henry Colthurst (Lime Street) – Chair Finance Committee
Is the Chairman aware exactly how much work is going on in the background of the Chamberlain’s department because it is huge, and that actually we are confident and intend to produce a fully funded proposal certainly by the end of this year.33:39 | Deputy Helen Fentimen
As I said I’m very grateful to officer’s work in the Chamberlain’s department and in Community and Children’s services. I know how hard they have been working. They understand how committed Members are to deliver this program, they appreciate that this is an extensive program. We absolutely have to deliver this. That commitment is there and I’m very grateful to the Chairman of Finance to support that work and bringing further detailed information back to Committees and to this Court by the end of this year.34:20 | Jason Pritchard (Portsoken)
The Chair of the Community and Children’s Services Committee supported the motion in 2022 to use the City Estate funds to accelerate the renovation of our housing estate. She was not present when essentially the same motion was debated last month. So will the Chair clarify whether she still supports that principle and whether she will still vote the same way when the motion returns to this Court next year by which time no credible alternative funding source is likely to have emerged.34:57 | Deputy Helen Fentimen
I think that as my time as Deputy Chair of Community and Children’s Services and now as the Chair of Community and Children’s Services I am much more aware of the scale of the problem that we have to tackle. I am also as a more experienced Member much more aware of the detail in which the way in which the City of London finances operate. So, I think that is the first thing I’d say. Unfortunately, I was not able to be here at the debate at the last Court meeting. I’m sorry about that, I had other commitments. However, had I been here, I would have said and supported the amendment that ‘all options’ should be considered. As I speak today, I know that all options are being considered. I know that there are a number of sources to fully fund this program. They are all being explained as the Chair of Finance has said, the outcome of that work will appear at a future meeting of this Court but before the end of this calendar year.I think what I would say to be avoiding any further doubt, I and the Chair of Policy and Resources and the Chair of Finance Committee are absolutely determined to secure the funding for this support for this program. My view at the moment is that all options are being explored, and I repeat that for the avoidance of doubt again, and we will see in due course when further information is available to us, not least the settlement from the Ministry of Housing Communities and local Government, when we see all of that together in the round we will be able to be explain how this program is being funded.
36:53 | Greg Lawrence (Farringdon Without)
I 100% support that this work must be done, but for clarity, may ask the Chairman, what percentage of our housing stock is privately owned?37:08 | Deputy Helen Fentimen
Each estate has a slightly different number of tenants and leaseholders but if you look at it as an average it’s just below 50/50. So, on some estates it might be 46 60 uh 54 but as a rule of thumb you can work on an average of about 50/50 or just below 50/50.37:51 | Leyla Ostovar (Castle Baynard)
The Resident Associations for the Corporation’s housing estates in the City have told us that they do not accept assurances from the Corporation that housing renovation is in hand and that they have no confidence it could be funded without tapping the City’s Estate. Will the Chair of the Community and Children’s Services committee listen to what they say?38:16 | Deputy Helen Fentimen
I understand how residents need to see evidence of progress. That is absolutely, absolutely clear. I can repeat what I’ve said already: we are working with residents where we have major programs of work either in the planning or underway, those residents are involved in in that work. And the Golden Lane Residents’ Association is a partner in the transformation group that as I said begins work next week.I can be quite explicit about the work on Middlesex Street Estate as well. We have five residents as part of the steering group that for quite some time, maybe 18 months possibly longer, have been working together with officers, with myself as Chair in that group, and have had very extensive opportunities to be part of the design and the detail of that program and the same on the Sydenham Hill estate. I understand that people need to see physical work underway, but to assure people as far as I can in respect of the Golden Lane Estate, extensive work is already underway. The 10-year program has started. It started earlier this year. We are at a pre-procurement stage. The procurement will go out formally in the spring and we expect that building works to be on site in the early part of 2027.
Of course, you need a detailed plan and we have a plan that is in the broadest sense in outline for when particular estates, particular blocks in the estates, where we expect and anticipate the work to be undertaken. But it’s when the contractors are in place that you can see the detail of the phasing and the staging of the works. These are very complicated complex programs of work and you wouldn’t expect officers in the Corporation to set out the finest detail of those developments. You have to have the support of the developers on the ground providing a lot more of the detail of that; they will all come in time. But please, I want to assure Members again, work has started, it is underway, but I know that residents need to see the proof. I hope in the passage of time and certainly over the next 12 months the residents will see through their involvement we are absolutely serious about this. It will happen.
41:09 | Gaby Robertshaw (Cripplegate)
Cresent House which is the block in which I live in the City of London has funding in place (part of the Golden Lane Estate). I have lived and breathed the projects that have been going on there for the last four years. I’ve attended 28 monthly residents’ liaison meetings – believe me there is resident liaison going on and well before the Resident Reset was in place. What is stimying us now is the changes in the Housing Act because of Grenfell. We had a tender that was about to be awarded and that had to be pulled and redone because our low-rise block was connected to two high-rise blocks. And so, we ended up with a three-year delay. Can the Chair please advise whether there’s any way that the City of London can circumnavigate the Building Safety Executive and its chronic under-resourcing to ensure faster delivery.42:29 | Deputy Helen Fentimen
I wish it were so simple. I would love to be able to expedite the work that we have to do and the submission and the processing of the submission we make to the Building Regulator. What I can say is that we know where we have issues; we know that in in electrical safety compliance for example, that that we have a substantial amount of work to do. We are talking with the Housing Inspector about that, we have a program in place to move that as quickly as possible and we have a high degree of confidence that we will deliver the electrical safety work by March 2026.We also know that we had a difficulty in the reporting of the high-rise buildings and my Honourable colleague is quite right that caused a delay. We had to go back and we had to resubmit having been satisfied that we have completed the works as necessary. But we have no control over the Health and Safety Executive, we are in their hands. We have encouraged and pushed as far as we can. We looked for alternative routes to see if there was a way in which we could expedite that, but sadly, that is just not possible. So, I’m sorry and I agree it’s very unfortunate, but we have done all that we can to move that as quickly as we can.
– (auto-generated transcript provided by YouTube, abridged with minor corrections and tidying up)
minutes
Minutes as presented to September’s Court of Common Council can be read here (item 12, pages 12-14).
