The City of London Corporation has agreed to explore “all options” to fund the acceleration of repairs to its housing estates.
By Ben Lynch
The City of London Corporation has agreed to explore “all options” to fund the acceleration of repairs to its housing estates.
Members attending Thursday afternoon’s (June 26) Court of Common Council voted in favour of an amended motion which described the condition of the Corporation’s housing stock as “an ongoing scandal”.
The original motion, proposed by Alderwoman Martha Grekos and seconded by Deputy Bethany Coombs, had called for the Corporation to specifically explore liquidating some of the assets held in its multi-billion-pound endowment fund, the City’s Estate, to pay for the works.
Common Councillor Anthony Fitzpatrick however proposed the amendment to reference ‘all’ options, which was agreed on by a majority of members.
The Corporation manages estates both within and outside of the Square Mile.
These include the York Way Estate in Islington, the William Blake Estate in Lambeth, and the Golden Lane Estate and the Barbican in the City.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has visited many of these and written on issues from draughty windows to broken lifts.
Alderwoman Grekos’s motion was similar to one submitted in 2022 by a former councillor, Sue Pearson, which also called for the City’s Estate to be used to help fund repairs though was rejected by the Court.
The City’s Estate, formerly the City’s Cash, is a huge endowment fund deriving income primarily from property.
Typically used to fund assets such as the Corporation’s green spaces and the Lord Mayor’s activities, Alderwoman Grekos argued there is precedent for it being used to support local authority functions, such as the pandemic recovery fund set up in 2021 for small businesses in the Square Mile.
Introducing her motion, Alderwoman Grekos opened by drawing attention to a “lavish dinner” she said members sitting on the Policy and Resources Committee enjoyed in December at a West End club, where bottles of red wine retail at £62 a bottle.
“At the same moment as these members were toasting themselves, tenants from many of the Corporation’s housing estates were wearing winter coats inside their flats to keep warm because their windows had not been replaced and their roofs and walls were not insulated after literally decades of neglect by the Corporation,” Alderwoman Grekos told the Court.
She continued to highlight the £84 million shortfall identified in the Corporation’s repairs programme and the ongoing inability to find the necessary funds to refurbish the estates, which she said could only be resolved via an injection of cash from the City’s Estate.
“It is not a private fund in any normal sense of the word as no private individuals or companies have an interest in it,” she said. “It’s a quasi-public fund, and we should apply it as such. And if that results in the Corporation being less wealthy, so what? There is no point in being wealthy for its own sake.”
Responding to Alderwoman Grekos, Deputy Chris Hayward, Chairman of Policy and Resources, said the Corporation is already moving ahead with a £205m, 10-year plan to refurbish the estates.
Acknowledging the £84m shortfall, as revealed in papers published last week, Deputy Hayward said he has tasked the Town Clerk and officers to run a viability assessment to review ways of plugging the gap. It will report back by the end of September.
“We can only liquidate assets once, and if the spirit of the motion were enacted it would reduce income from City’s Estate by around £7m per year,” Deputy Hayward said. “We would need to reduce services to the communities that we serve. This is neither desirable nor is it necessary nor would it be fiscally responsible.”
One of those to speak for the motion, Deputy John Fletcher, said it was a “shame” that Alderwoman Grekos had linked the residents with the Corporation’s social programme in her opening gambit.
However, he continued to say: “I’m going to find it very difficult going around the Middlesex Street Estate in my constituency seeing residents living in substandard accommodation for years and years and look them in the eye and tell them that this Court was not even prepared to explore selling some of its assets to take them out of the dreadful situations they find themselves in.”
Deputy Marianne Fredericks similarly spoke in favour of the motion, telling members they should feel “ashamed” of the state of the City’s housing.
“Our residents are really finding it very difficult to understand why the Corporation can’t spend some of its money to bring their housing stock up. We’re public landlords, we have a duty and responsibility to them.”
There were however also warnings against using the City’s Estate to help pay for repairs, including from the Finance Chairman Deputy Henry Colthurst and former Chairman of Planning and Transportation, Common Councillor Shravan Joshi.
Cllr Joshi in particular drew attention to the range of cultural institutions and other organisations supported by the City’s Estate.
He said such assets are integral to attracting the best global talent to the Square Mile, before asking if the motion was to be adopted: “What are we going to cut? Are we going to cut our educational funding? Are we going to cut funds to some of those cultural ambitions that we have?”
Cllr Fitzpatrick, prior to his amendment being agreed, told members he was concerned the wording of the motion would not deliver what the Court appeared to be hoping to achieve.
Instead, he suggested the motion be amended to cover all options of potential funding. The amendment was agreed.
Alderwoman Grekos closed by claiming there continued to be disinformation raised during the debate regarding the use of the City’s Estate, and described the amendment as an “ambush” of her initial proposal.
“This amendment clearly seeks to draw attention away from using the City’s Estate to fund the acceleration of the renovation of the Corporation’s housing estates. The problem is that the City’s Estate is the only credible source of funds available.”
Referring to the amendment as a “mere deflection”, Alderwoman Grekos said: “The City’s Estate has become a sacred cow in the Corporation. Suggesting it can be used for better purposes is akin to heresy. It is time for this irrational taboo to be broken.”
Cllr Fitzpatrick raised a point of order claiming Alderwoman Grekos had used inappropriate language in her closing remarks, which was accepted by the Town Clerk in consultation with the Lord Mayor. The amended motion was agreed by a majority of members.
Following the meeting a City of London Corporation spokesperson: “We are committed to finding a serious, long-term solution to investment in our housing estates. A comprehensive 10-year programme of major works is already underway to deliver essential repairs and improvements.
“This £205m programme will be partly funded through the Housing Revenue Account, with further work now being undertaken to assess options. Ensuring our residents have decent homes is an absolute priority for the City of London Corporation.”
