WERA Asks…Keith Hardy
Jul 30th
Keith, Can you please tell our readers briefly what your job is?
I am the Major Works Manager for Lambeth Living.
How long have you been doing this job?
I have been doing this job for six years
What are the positives of the role you do?
Delivering Decent Homes improvement works for Lambeth’s tenants and leaseholders to ensure their homes are wind and weathertight, have reasonably modern facilities and are thermally efficient.
If you could choose any other department within Lambeth Living, what one would you choose and why?
Although not strictly Lambeth Living, with my construction and surveying background I feel that I could make a positive contribution to the Children and Young Peoples’ Services Department of Lambeth Council and the Building Schools for the Future Programme.
Your department has carried out and overseen the biggest changes on Weir Estate since it was built with the new windows and doors to residents home, what are your thoughts on this?
I am very pleased to see the improvements to homes on the Weir Estate and I acknowledge also the very hard work put in by the Weir Residents’ Association and the Thornton Ward Councillors in bringing this about. When visiting the estate recently with Dave McEvoy I was very pleased to hear residents tell us how pleased they are with the new windows and how they had noticed a reduction in their heating bills as a result.
How do you think your role within Lambeth Living benefits the residents of Lambeth?
I believe that my role and that of the Major Works team is able to improve the quality of Lambeth Living’s tenants’ and leaseholders’ homes probably more so than any other Lambeth Living department. Last year alone, the Major Works team delivered improvements to over 11,000 homes in Lambeth and I am very proud of that achievement.
What part of Lambeth is your favourite and why?
I enjoy the view from Lambeth Bridge and the Albert Embankment looking across to the Houses of Parliament, the mother of parliaments and home of democracy. I think it is great that you can see Big Ben, one of the most famous buildings in the world, from Lambeth.
What was your dream job growing up?
Probably an airline pilot, but unfortunately my eye sight was not good enough.
Can you please tell us an interesting fact about yourself?
I very much enjoy travelling, especially to South East Asia, where I have visited all of the many countries in that region of the world.I also enjoy long distance running and have completed several marathons and half marathons (but I only run up to 10 miles at a time these days, as my joints are not getting any younger and I feel the strain more now !).
What changes would you like to see happen within the borough over the next few years?
To see all of Lambeth Living’s homes brought up to the Decent Homes Standard. This will require many millions of pounds of investment over the next few years. I hope very much this will still be possible despite the financial difficulties and uncertainties this country faces over the next few years.
As you have been working closely with WERA, can you tell us what benefits Residents Associations bring to residents in your opinion?
Strong and well organised Residents’ Associations (such as at Weir) provide a very effective way of informing Lambeth Living about the needs of local communities which help us in planning and delivering major investment programmes, such as the recently completed programme on the Weir.
Where In the world do you most like to visit?
As I have said, I enjoy visiting South East Asia, where my favourite location is Bali, an island in Indonesia with a wonderful traditional Hindu culture.As my partner is Turkish, I also enjoy visiting Turkey and Istanbul, one of the world’s greatest cities, with fabulous buildings and history.
If you could change one thing about your job, what would it be?
It would be great if Lambeth Living could be given more decision making powers by our client, Lambeth Council, which I strongly believe would speed up the delivery of our programmes and bring about much needed improvements on Lambeth’s estates more quickly.
What do most like to do after a day at the office to unwind?
Have a good Turkish meal with Sunay, my partner. Having a meal at Ev, a Turkish restaurant in Waterloo is a great way to unwind (and it’s great value too !).
What has been your biggest achievement since joining Lambeth Living?
Last year, delivering £25 million of Decent Homes improvement work in Lambeth.
What aspects do you think are the most important for a successful community?
Harmony, understanding, tolerance and a strong willingness to work together to improve the quality of life within the community.
If you could meet anyone famous (dead or alive), who would you most like to meet and why?
Herbert Morrison, one of the most influential British politicians of the 20th century. Herbert Morrison was actually born in Lambeth and as Leader of the former London County Council (LCC) built thousands of good quality council housing in the 1930s and 1940s, much of which still exist in Lambeth to this day.Herbert Morrison served as Deputy Prime Minister in the Labour government immediately after the 2nd World War and was the Member of Parliament for Lewisham East, where I grew up and still live today. Interestingly, Herbert Morrison’s grandson is Peter (Lord) Mandelson, who is also a former Lambeth councillor. I was too young to meet Herbert Morrison, but my grandfather did and told me a lot about him, as he was the local MP.
Do you think your department has delivered a positive impact on residents’ lives in Lambeth?
Yes, most definitely. Over the last year alone we have delivered improvements to over 11,000 homes in Lambeth. We have installed new windows and roofs to over 1,500 homes.
What would you say is the most challenging aspect of your role?
Lambeth has such a huge backlog of outstanding repairs and improvement works required to be carried out to its properties. This will take several more years to get underway and complete. Residents, quite rightly, expect this work to take place as soon as possible, and it is very challenging for my team to have to explain that Lambeth only has a limited amount of money each year to be able to carry out this much needed investment.
What positive changes are Major Works looking to implement in the future for Lambeth?
Lambeth Living is hoping to soon let new long term contracts that will run for up to seven years and will include a large programme of Decent Homes works, such as the much needed upgrading of kitchens and bathrooms and electrical re-wiring.The way these contracts are designed should also mean that we can get works underway much quicker than we have been able to do in the past when we have had to tender works on each estate individually, which is a very time consuming process.
Three Way Funding Gets Weir Fencing Fixed
Jul 28th
Damaged and buckled railings on Weir Estate, are getting vital repairs and being replaced, following a three way funding agreement between Weir Estate Residents Association, Lambeth Living and the Breyer Group plc.
The works to the value of an estimated eighteen thousand pounds have got under way this week following works to resident’s homes and now the efforts to continue to improve Weir Estate have now focused on the communal area railings. Three sums of Six Thousand Pounds have been committed to the improvement works has been provided by Lambeth Living, the Arms Length Management Organisation responsible for housing in Lambeth, Breyer Group plc the contractor responsible for the major works which are now coming to an end, and Weir Estate Residents Association.
WERA Chair Dave McEvoy is delighted with the deal, saying the railings, which were put up in the mid 1970s, are in desperate need of changing following years of damage caused by careless motor vehicles crashing into them as well as rust caused by the weather “This work is about WERA and Lambeth Living’s commitment to improving the appearance of the estate so residents can take pride in the area in which they live. We have achieved this to residents homes and now we are delighted to be able to improve our communal areas too. We want Weir Estate to be the best looking estate in Lambeth, and for other resident associations to aspire to be like us. We are grateful to Lambeth Living and Breyer Group plc for supporting us in this”
The improvement work is being carried out by a sub contractor R&B overseen by Breyer Group plc. It’s expected to be complete by mid-August, by which time members of the Youth Offending Service will move onto the estate to paint the old railings as part of their community payback. This is expected to start throughout the summer holidays every Tuesday supervised by officers from the Lambeth team. For this, Breyer is also kindly donating the paint and painting materials in order for them to carry out the paint job.
Missing original metal works on the front of the estate will also be reinstated and then be painted.
Dave added “This is a real combined effort by us as the estates Association and our external partners to bring a new better look to our estate.”
Breyer’s Managing Director, Tim Breyer who has authorised the financial support of the works from Breyer has now been invited to visit Weir Estate in order to see the major improvements being made following the works carried out by his staff. Lambeth Living’s Director of Property Services has also backed the projects with their on going investment into improving the estate.
WERA Elects New Vice-Chair
Jul 18th
A new Vice Chair has been elected to the Weir Estate Residents Association’s Executive Committee. Life Long resident, Rohema Khanom was this week elected into the role by a unanimous vote of members at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) last week.
Rohema and her family have lived on Weir Estate for many years in which she has grown up in the area. This week Rohema joined the association to work with and support the current Chair as well bringing new ideas to the take the association forward.
The position of vice chair had been vacant for many years and this is one of the first times, WERA has had a full executive committee who are responsible for managing the association, its finances and decisions.
Current Chair, Dave McEvoy spoke highly of the new appointee to WERA team at the meeting and then recommended that members elected her which was overseen by new Housing Officer, Teodoro De Carvalho.
Rohema has already begun throwing herself into her new role by getting involved in key issues such as the Community Garden, Parking issues and other long term estate projects.
Ofcom Publish Masts Output Report Following Estate Audit
Jul 17th
Telecommunication regulator, Ofcom has published its report following an audit of the Mobile Phone masts on Weir Estate which has now been received by Executive Officers at Weir Estate Residents Association.
The report will form a fundamental part of a enquiry into the future of the masts and base stations situated on two estate blocks and the prospect of any future installations of telecommunications aerials on Weir Estate in the future.
The WERA enquiry is considering all the evidence and facts available in order to make an informed recommendation to residents on whether they should they remain and the level of impact or threat on residents long term health. The report carried out by independent regulator Ofcom, has indicated low levels of radiation output throughout the report will now have to be concluded by another external body, The Health Protection Agency responsible for the safety and wellbeing of the public such as mobile phone masts.
In the report, six areas where covered during the audit in areas identified as being significantly affected by the signal coming from the masts.
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WERA Asks…Allan Drew
Jul 16th
Please introduce yourself
My name Is Allan Drew and I have been involved with Customer Service for the past 30 years. I have spent the last 5 years in Lambeth, which was my first public sector role. Previously I have worked for BT and also run my own small business providing consultancy on customer service
Can you explain what your role is?
In Lambeth I run the parts of the council responsible for resident contact. So the call centre and the walk-in customer centres in Brixton and Streatham are part of my operation, where we handle about 2m contacts/year with Lambeth residents. I also have responsibility for facilities management which involves the smooth running of the council’s 15 major office buildings.
What do you find is the most challenging part of your job?
Working successfully across other departments in the council to produce the best result for the customer. Not because colleagues do not want to help, but rather that every part of the council has a significant improvement activity to be getting on with and ensuring it all fits together and everything gets done is quite a challenge
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