The reports concluded that the poor management of contracts led to the chaotic refurbishment and “unacceptable” outcomes for residents living at Devon Mansions and the Kirby Estate in Bermondsey, and the Canada Estate in Rotherhithe.
On Monday evening (July 28), the mismanagement of the major works for the three estates were laid bare as members sitting on the Housing Scrutiny Commission discussed the multiple failures and “significant missteps” which led up to the huge overspend.
The long-awaited investigation comes almost two years after residents and ward councillors first raised serious concerns with the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee in November 2023 about the cost and delay of the works as well as numerous poor repairs which tenants and leaseholders were forced to endure.
Frustrated residents at the time expressed their dismay at “shoddy” repair work, from poorly installed windows which didn’t close properly and allowed wind to whistle through to half-finished paint jobs which they were expected to foot the bill for.
What was the refurbishment meant to look like?
In June 2020, a contract was awarded to Durkan Limited to carry out major works at Canada Estate, including asbestos removal, front entrance door replacements and window replacements which were to be completed over a period of 60 weeks at a cost of £4,228,512.
However the project ended up being delayed by a further 72 weeks and costs increased by more than £2.1 million due to the scopes of the works changing and the length of time extending. In April 2020, Engie Regeneration Limited was awarded a contract which was worth £5,622,382 to carry out major works lasting 62 weeks at Devon Mansions including fire safety improvement works, kitchen and bathroom replacements and scaffolding and major works.
Like Canada Estate, the cost of the major works increased by a further £4.1 million with the project being delayed by another 102 weeks. A third project on the Kirby Estate also experienced significant delays with major works and costs sky-rocketing by £167,241.
Following the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting in November 2023, a Task and Finishing Team was established to carry out an internal review of Devon Mansions and the Canada Estate and a second review for the Kirby Estate.
The reviews laid bare how the poor management of significant works, as well as officers not listening to the concerns of residents, has resulted in today’s circumstances. A total of 36 recommendations have been put forward to prevent anything like it from happening again.
During Monday night’s meeting, committee members heard from Emily Hickson and Sam Dalton, ward councillors for London Bridge & West Bermondsey where Devon Mansions is located, who had also raised concerns about the major works back in November 2023.
Cllr Dalton said: “Since we have become the ward councillors for London Bridge and West Bermondsey, a-year-and-a-half before that we had gained a clear picture of just how catastrophic the failings have been and just how much residents had been let down.
“[Residents] were spending countless online major works meetings where [they] simply weren’t getting the answers and therefore initiating the investigation seemed the only solution to us.”
As part of their own recommendations, Cllr Dalton and Cllr Hickson want residents to be charged only for works that have been done and completed to a high quality, as well as there being transparency over what went wrong.
Cllr Hickson said: “It’s definitely our reading that residents were flagging issues from the very beginning and these were not understood or investigated properly at all by officers.”
Bethan Roberts, a ward councillors for Rotherhithe and fellow Canada Estate resident, said: “I do also think that it is imperative that people who are living with whistling windows and doors not closing and locks breaking, that those works are done as a priority and that a contractor is brought in that is not the original contractor because the standard of work that they’ve shown throughout is quite jaw-dropping in some cases and just shoddy in others.”
Barry Duckett, Chair of the Tenants’ and Residents’ Association on the Canada Estate, slammed the final report for his estate and expressed his and other residents’ overall frustrations at being ignored by the council.
Mr Duckett said: “This report, I’m sorry, is not in-depth enough, they didn’t do enough flats, they didn’t come and see us, they just wandered around the estate knocking on doors hoping people were in – how good’s that? Is that a report? Is that what you expect?
“I will tell you something, I’m sorry to say I’m probably going to lose my temper but this is the worst Cabinet that there ever was.. because I told them what was going wrong, we all did and none of us here, my colleagues will tell you, were listened to, so why write a report that’s rubbish? Why? Why put a report out that doesn’t solve anything? Who’s going to pay for it?”
Michael Robinson, another Canada Estate resident who was part of the resident panel put together by the Task and Finishing Team, said the report highlights “a damning catalogue of repeated failure” with the council’s management and delivery of the major works and repairs on his estate.
How will the council avoid a repeat?
Hakeem Osinaike, who became the Strategic Director of Housing in March 2024, apologised to residents across the three estates and said although most of the issues had been addressed, it did not take away the fact that the council should have done better in the first place.
Mr Osinaike said: “This report and the investigations that led to them have been written and conducted respectively with the officers’ intention of transparency and integrity.
“I have been very, very clear to my colleagues that there will be a genuine explanation of what went wrong and lessons learned to ensure the mistakes found are never repeated.”
Later on in the meeting, Cllr Jane Salmon, who sits on the Housing Scrutiny Commission, said she was “horrified” at the reports, adding “somewhere along the line, officers stopped caring”.
The council’s housing department has been instructed to act on the recommendations, which include implementing a new way for residents’ concerns to be escalated and creating incentives to ensure contractors understand value for money is essential.
‘We’re very sorry to everyone who has been affected’
A Southwark Council spokesperson said they welcomed the reports, and said they make it clear there were serious issues relating to these works including a lack of grip and oversight from the council.
They added: “This was unacceptable and fell far short of what our residents deserve. We’re very sorry to everyone who has been affected. We’re taking action to address the issues raised and have already made major changes, including to how we manage contracts. We know more needs to be done and are taking further action.”