Catford has many things going for it, with two train stations, a vibrant community, an active voluntary sector and of course the wonderful Ladywell Fields on its doorstep.
However, it is also a place that has been let down many times by Labour run Lewisham Council, which has been in power since 1971.
Milford Towers
Just as recently as February the BBC reported on the state of Milford Towers highlighting that residents faced problems with mould, break-ins and being trapped without lift access. Neither the elected Mayor of Lewisham or any councillors provided a statement to the BBC for their report, which is a standard tactic of Labour run Lewisham Council when it is under media scrutiny. However, an anonymous Lewisham council spokesperson at least admitted that Milford Towers had ‘fallen below the standards we expect for our estates.’
The severe problems facing Milford Towers are not new, and indeed problems started to arise within just a few years of its completion in 1974.
In 2011, in the hope that Milford Towers could be demolished, the council commissioned consultants to undertake a report to ensure the estate was never listed, as that would have hindered its demolition.
The consultants were quite clear in how poor decisions had been in the past, stating:
‘The overall quality of the design and construction is questionable, and there is much evidence to suggest that it was not fit for purpose from its inception.’
The report also went onto to highlight problems identified as long ago as 1984 which including water penetration and defective roofing. The report also quoted Lewisham's assistant borough architect who described the access routes as a 'wind tunnel', funnelling wind and rain into the electrical gear in the lift shafts, causing them to short.
Yet such a significant report about Milford Towers was not published and incredibly appears to not even been shared with any Lewisham councillors, as confirmed by a recent public question asked by a Lewisham resident. Lewisham council’s long standing record of secrecy appears to even involve keeping councillors in the dark about the real record of its housing provision. Incredibly the report has only come to light due to a freedom of information request which can be seen here.
With Lewisham refusing to be open about the continualproblems facing Milford Towers is it any surprise that the residents have been let down for so long?
Pedestrian improvements in Catford delayed by years
As part of the Barratt housing development on the former Catford greyhound stadium an agreement was reached that a new pedestrian bridge would be built over the Hayes railway line, to replace the former bridge which had been demolished. Yet after many years of this promise being repeatedly made the bridge never got built. Instead, the developers were allowed to pay at some point the council a sum (called Section 106 money) to be used for ‘other purposes’.
Lewisham Council then claimed the Section 106 money from Barratt Homes would b used for pedestrian improvements around Catford and Catford Bridge train stations, with a promise that a pedestrianised approach to Catford Bridge would be completed by late 2022. We are now told by the council that the timescale for delivering the Station Links project is for contractor procurement in 2024 and construction hopefully starting in 2025, but with no definite date provided for actual completion.
After failing to deliver a pedestrian bridge a decade ago an alternative project that should have seem some improvements completed by late 2022 is now set to be at least three years late.
Of course, Barratt Homes long completed the housing development on the former greyhound stadium, but the money they were legally obliged to pay to Lewisham Council as part of its planning permission, remains unspent.
Lewisham Council not only has a history of secrecy over its decisions, but also poor management in deliveryschemes and providing key services, especially in relation to housing. Investigations into repeated housing failings by Lewisham Council are ongoing by the Housing Ombudsman.
Milford Towers and the failure to provide pedestrian improvements in Catford are just two examples of many where local people have been seriously let down.
The sad reality is that Catford residents, as with Lewisham residents, have been let down time and time again by the one party Labour controlled Lewisham Council.
Many of you may have asked yourselves why there has been such a rapid increase in the development of HMOs in Catford. It is as a result of Lewisham Council confirming a non-immediate Article 4 Direction for Lewisham's southern wards.
Labour run Lewisham Council has recently faced the embarrassment of an enforcement notice being placed on it by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for failing to respond to hundreds of overdue requests made under the Freedom of Information Act.
Lib Dem campaigner Diana Cashin has finally been updated by Thameslink Railway over the long delays to completing the new lifts at Catford station.
