Members of local community groups have demanded improvements to be made to housing conditions in the borough in a series of Christmas cards delivered to Lewisham Council at the Town Hall.
The cards made groups incuding Lewisham Citizens and Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network, contained images of poor housing conditions showing severe mould, dampness and crumbling walls which they say have been allowed to prevail in social housing in the borough.
The cards, which included pleas for the conditions to be fixed as soon as possible, as a “Christmas wish,” were handed to Cabinet Member for Housing, Sophie Davis.
Handmade cards were also made by primary schoolchildren from St Mary’s. One card read: “All I want for Christmas is for my walls to not be crumbling.”
Several residents recalled how they had been treated by Lewisham Homes, the largest social landlord in the borough, saying that a lack of care had been shown in response to their inadequate housing situations.
A mother told the crowd that the mould in her home has negatively impacted her child’s health and they now have to use an inhaler.
A spokesperson from the Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network said that refugees are heavily impacted by this: “No one should have to endure freezing temperatures because their window has fallen out and no one has bothered to replace it, no one should escape a war only to find themselves battling for a safe home. And yet, we know dozens of people facing exactly these issues.”
Davis said that the conditions shown in the cards are not acceptable and the council is now working on solutions to this. She said she will continue to work alongside Lewisham Citizens to help solve these issues.
Labour MP for Lewisham East, Janet Daby, penned a letter last week to all social housing providers in Lewisham calling for them to combat damp and mould in the housing they provide.
The campaign follows the recent death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in Rochdale. He died of a “severe respiratory condition” caused by prolonged exposure to mould in his home.
Daby said: “I am being contacted by constituents referring to Awaab’s case, terrified that their children’s health is in danger due to … poor housing conditions, arising from damp, rot and mould. Cases like this are increasingly being brought to my attention.”
The council has announced they will be bringing housing management services currently provided by Lewisham Homes under direct control of Lewisham Council in order to improve services.
Read about the new plan here which Lewisham Council plans to implement by the end of 2023.
