Lib Dems secure meaningful action on damp and mould in Southwark

Last night, at council assembly, leader of the Lib Dem opposition Cllr Victor Chamberlain proposed a motion that would improve Southwark’s response to damp and mould.

The motion instructed the council to better use data to identify hotspots and problem areas, allowing for proactive repairs to take place that would tackle the causes of damp and mould.

Additionally, the motion called for more repairs action days in Southwark, calling for a full calendar of events that would service the entire borough.

The amended motion kept in these key commitments and was voted through unanimously.

The motion passing comes a day after reports that an 88 year-old woman has been living with a leak in her council home for two years, despite multiple reports to the council.

Cllr Chamberlain raised this case at last night’s meeting, asking how this can still be happening even after Southwark was fined £10,000 by the housing ombudsman for similar neglect in May this year.

Today, Cllr Chamberlain has written to Southwark’s Housing Director urgently requesting that he refer the case to the Housing Ombudsman for a full investigation.

Commenting, Cllr Victor Chamberlain said:

“The Council’s response to damp and mould has been lacklustre and insufficient for years. The Housing Ombudsman has had to step in far too many times, and we are still seeing new cases of egregious neglect all over Southwark. We need to move away from the current slow, reactive service. We need solutions and a holistic system to tackle this blight.

On behalf of the countless residents living in unacceptable conditions, I am relieved Southwark Labour finally saw sense and supported these Liberal Democrat proposals. We need to end Dickensian housing conditions in Southwark once and for all.”