From Lewisham Council:
Lewisham has received an allocation of £94.5m to fund Decent Homes works in the borough - including £25.5m over the next two years - following an announcement by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) about its grant funding allocation.
The funding falls short of the Council's bid of £126m. The allocation of £25.5m over the next two years will enable Lewisham Homes, the ALMO set up to manage Lewisham Council's social housing stock, to make a start on delivering vital decent homes works for thousands of residents in council owned homes in the borough. But the shortfall will leave many tenants uncertain about how and when their homes will be brought up to standard.
Cllr Susan Wise, Cabinet Member for Customer Services, said: "I am pleased that Lewisham has received this funding and that we can now begin the Decent Homes programme for Lewisham Homes' residents. However, we will continue to press the Government to deliver on the money promised in future years and we will also seek to secure additional funding to ensure that this programme will be completed."
Julia Cotton, Chair of Lewisham Homes, said: "This is good news as it means we are able to get our Decent Homes programme started. Over the last year we have been consulting with our residents on these works, now this funding has been confirmed these plans can begin to become a reality."
