Groundhog day as another "embarrassing” estate scandal hits Southwark

Last night’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee saw councillors grill Southwark’s Labour administration over yet another estate scandal, branded as “embarrassing”.  

The Chilton Grove Estate on Plough Way in Rotherhithe was due for a combined rooftop build and refurbishment in 2019 – but after the new rooftop flats were abandoned, leaseholders and residents have been hit with extortionate bills and left in limbo over the rest of the works, all whilst effectively living on a building site.  

Cllr Victor Chamberlain, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, recounted a conversation he had with a Chilton Grove leaseholder – who described a meeting with housing bosses as “dreadful”. The leaseholder also shared that one of his neighbours, who is 91 years old and had lived on the estate since it was first built in the 60s, was casually told that she could be facing another £60,000 bill on top of the £40,000 she had already paid for the works. 

Cllr Rachel Bentley described having deja vu – with this only being the latest in a string of estate scandals on the Kirby Estate, Canada Estate, Devon Mansions, and Arica House – and suggested that this is only the tip of the iceberg.  

An internal review of the Chilton Grove works, which admitted the project had “not gone well”, revealed that it took senior housing bosses two years to decide whether to proceed with full or partial cladding, and that outstanding works would not be completed until 2027 – almost 10 years after the project started. 

Residents also slammed the poor communication from the council, with the internal report itself being written without any consultation with those affected by the scandal. 

In a win for the Liberal Democrats however, it was confirmed that every major works project since 2015 was now being reviewed in light of these scandals. Liberal Democrats have consistently said that there is likely more scandals to be uncovered, and called for full investigations. 

Commenting, Cllr Victor Chamberlain said:  

“Last night’s meeting was déjà vu. The same incompetence and disregard for residents and leaseholders we’ve come to expect from this Labour council were on full display again. 

We heard the same tired excuses and empty apologies, but residents have no reason to believe the same warm words that have come from Labour’s previous 5 housing bosses, none of whom have restored trust. 

At Chilton Grove, leaseholders face huge bills while living on a building site. Tenants too have endured this disaster for years, and it’s only being exposed because residents and Liberal Democrats have forced the issue to be exposed. 

Labour are the worst landlord in London. The only way to fix this broken housing department is to kick them out next May.”