Lambeth council say they are unable to state who owns 53 empty properties on the Central Hill estate in Crystal Palace – because they are still compiling their answer to a Freedom of Information request.
But the ACTUAL figure could be as high as 67, News From Crystal Palace can reveal today.*
A Lambeth council Freedom of Information response dated January 19th this year to a Freedom of Information request said there were 148 ‘voids’ officially declared empty on the six regeneration estates (which Labour party councillors in Lambeth past and present have wanted to demolish since circa 2016):
- Central Hill estate Crystal Palace: 53
- Cressingham Gardens estate near Brockwell park: 27
- Fenwick estate Clapham North: 21
- Knights Walk estate Kennington: Two
- South Lambeth estate: Seven
- Westbury estate, Wandsworth Road: 38
But a separate FOI response says that as of March 5th this year the figures were:
- Central Hill (67),
- Cressingham Gardens (16);
- Fenwick (58);
- South Lambeth (10); and
- Westbury (12). (Knights Walk not included in this original FOI request – Ed.)
The January 19th response says there are 592 empty council-owned properties not found on regeneration estates.
A separate FOI response dated February 23rd this year (to a follow-up question on January 29th) asked: “Please could you provide me with the criteria for a home to be on Lambeth’s official Empty Homes register?.”
Lambeth responded: “The property must be a residential property that has been empty for a minimum of six months.
“Properties owned by Lambeth council, housing associations, retirement flats, residential care homes and empty homes of residents in care are not included.”
Which prompted Central Hill estate residents association’s Sabine Mairey to ask:
- If Lambeth council do not own these 53 empty properties on the Central Hill estate, who does?
- Please could you tell me in which area or estate the 592 remaining council-owned empty properties are?
On May 2nd Lambeth council responded to Sabine Mairey’s FOI requests with a lengthy preamble about Environmental Information regulations before stating: “With regards to this request, we can advise that the information should be withheld at this time as it is unfinished.”
Sabine has now asked Lambeth council for an internal review of their FOI answer via the whatdotheyknow website:
“Who owns the 53 on Central Hill on the official Empty Homes register?’. “The first question is not answered in this response. “Could you answer the question?.”
Sabine has also added an annotation to her request: “This is nonsensical.”
- In their January 19th response Lambeth council also said:
“We are committed to bringing empty homes back into use as quickly as possible, as this increases the amount of housing available to us and helps tackle homelessness across the borough.
“But once a resident has left a property, we will not rent it to a new tenant until it is in a lettable condition. “This can take some time, depending on the condition the home has been left in. “The majority of our empty properties have been vacant for less than six months.
“Most of our vacant properties are being repaired for reletting, but the total will include some requiring major works to resolve issues such as roof leaks and /or structural defects.”
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*But do Lambeth council even know the correct answer?
I understand that private renters in ‘Homes for Lambeth’ buy-back properties are currently being threatened with eviction by their estate agents, acting on behalf of ‘Homes for Lambeth’ and Lambeth council.
This is occurring on five ‘regeneration’ estates – Cressingham Gardens, Central Hill, Westbury, Fenwick and South Lambeth. (Knights Walk estates not included in request – Ed.)
The request – with Lambeth’s answers – reads as follows:
1. When was the decision taken to evict these residents, and who by?.
The decision to transfer back to the council the homes which are managed by HFL and let as Assured Shorthold Tenancies has not been taken. The decision to reclaim properties leased to HFL for rent on the private market as fixed term tenancies end was added to the corporate forward plan on March 18th 2024 and will be taken once the full democratic process and impact analyses are complete.
3. How many residents on each estate are affected? -Please list by estate, including any not mentioned here.
- Central Hill (67)
- Cressingham Gardens (16)
- Fenwick (58),
- South Lambeth (10),
- Westbury (12), and
For clarity this number reflects the number of properties in the scope of the decision outlined in answer 1. (Knights Walk estate not included in request – Ed.)
4. Those affected include families with children, people with disabilities and older residents. Has any consultation with the residents, or any Equalities Impact Assessment been carried out?.
All formal decisions are required to have equalities considerations before they are made. The decision to transfer ASTs, if taken later in 2024, will comply with this policy and have a robust equalities impact analysis.
NEWS FROM CRYSTAL PALACE 