Southwark Cladding Victims May Gain Support after Lib Dem Amendment

Southwark building-safety-crisis victims may have access to a specialist support hub after a Liberal Democrat amendment to the Mayor’s budget on Wednesday.

The London Assembly agreed the formal amendment to the Mayor’s draft budget, which would result in a Building Safety Support Hub.

The Building Safety Support Hub would offer specialist help to leaseholders and building owners regarding their legal or financial situations, alongside mental health support.

Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon proposed the amendment.

Southwark has many residents stuck in the building safety crisis, with media reports last year identifying that it affected at least 17,000 people in the borough.

Data that came out in 2021 also revealed the borough had one of the highest amounts of waking watches in London.

The Southwark Liberal Democrats proposed a motion to boycott developers or housing associations that do not support leaseholders affected by the building safety crisis in stock they own or have built.

Southwark Labour removed this policy, tabled in November, using an amendment.

Another Southwark Liberal Democrat motion in November 2020 proposed its own cladding and snagging hub for advice or support to residents.

However, the Labour party struck out this proposal too in an amendment.

Commenting, Cllr Hamish McCallum, Southwark Liberal Democrat Leader said:

“The building safety crisis is a torment for many Southwark residents who are dealing with tortuous pressures due to the Conservative government’s mismanagement of the situation. I am proud that my colleague Caroline Pidgeon has won a victory for leaseholders and is forcing the Mayor to consider providing more help. We are fighting similar battles in Southwark where we believe the council should refuse to work with developers that are not adequately supporting leaseholders.”