Latest news with #PatSlattery
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Major five-year survey of Greenwich's 26,000 council homes begins
Greenwich Council has started a major conditions survey of all its council housing stock including 26,000 council homes. The survey, which will take five years, is aimed at helping to plan the correct improvements to homes that need changes to ensure all residents can have a safe and secure home. The project forms part of Housing Our Greenwich which is a widescale £430million housing programme to improve council homes in the borough. Councillor and Cabinet Member for Housing Management, Neighbourhoods and Homelessness, Pat Slattery, said: 'The data we collect from this survey will help us gather a fuller picture of the condition of our homes in the borough and the type of work we may need to do. 'This is important as it will help us prioritise any future investment and ultimately help to ensure our council homes can be safe, secure and meet modern standards.' Cllr Slattery encouraged residents to respond to letters from surveyors so they can carry out the survey thoroughly. All surveyors will carry an identification card with them and surveys will take thirty minutes maximum. The survey information will help provide accurate and up-to-date data about the borough's housing stock to support the seven overarching priorities in Greenwich Council's Housing Asset Management Strategy 2025-2030. They are: Ensuring a good understanding of the condition of our stock Improving the energy efficiency of all homes & decarbonisation Maintaining the Decent Homes Standard for all properties Tackling damp and mould Building safety & compliance Data management & innovation Managing costs through effective project planning The survey will observe the internal and external conditions of council homes occupied by tenants including kitchens, windows, roots, insulation, heating systems and the external condition of homes occupied by leaseholders. Council appointed consultants Martin Arnold, Potter Raper and FFT and some in-house council staff will carry out the surveying. Residents will be contacted by letter to arrange an appointment when their home is due to be included in the survey.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
More residents to benefit from home adaptation grants and loans in Greenwich
More residents with disabilities are set to benefit from enhanced support aimed at helping them live safely, independently, and comfortably in their own homes. The Royal Borough of Greenwich Council has approved a new Housing Assistance Policy that will expand access to grants and loans for home adaptations, helping people across tenures, private renters, housing association tenants, and homeowners to live more independently. The updated scheme, agreed by the council's cabinet on July 9, aims to reduce falls, increase daily independence, and enable more people to remain in their own homes for longer. Pat Slattery, cabinet member for housing management, neighbourhoods, and homelessness, said: "Our improved Housing Assistance Policy provides more flexibility, reduces bureaucracy and reflects the increases in costs needed to help people with disabilities live safely at home. "We want our residents who need that extra bit of support to be able to live safely and securely in their own homes if they wish too, and this revised policy will help many more residents to be able to do this." The policy introduces a wider range of discretionary support options, funded through the government's Disabled Facilities Grant, which falls under the Better Care Fund. Key measures include a £25,000 discretionary top-up grant for those needing more extensive adaptations, above the existing £30,000 maximum from the Disabled Facilities Grant. Owner occupiers who require adaptations costing more than £55,000 can now apply for a £30,000 interest-free loan or equity mortgage, secured against their property. The policy also introduces increased help for those with an assessed financial contribution towards adaptation costs. Mariam Lolavar, cabinet member for health, adult social care, and borough of sanctuary, said: "We want people's health to support them in living their best life. "The changes we've agreed will help even more residents to be able to access vital support they need to be able to live well in their own homes and prevent recurring hospital admissions and delays to hospital discharge because a home doesn't meet their current needs. "This is important not only for their overall health and wellbeing but also in helping to provide more choice and control over their own lives." Additional grants include funding for hoists, increased from £1,000 to £3,500 for minor adaptations to prevent falls, and a new non-means-tested grant of up to £1,000 for small changes to support those with cognitive or sensory impairments. Read more 'Extremely pungent' Chinese restaurant to open at bottom of Woolwich tower block Fresh package of savings worth more than £34million in Lewisham Objections to 'extremely pungent' Chinese restaurant's residence in Woolwich block Other new grants include up to £3,500 to clear homes for residents who have experienced self-neglect, and up to £15,000 for temporary installations to support end-of-life care at home. There is also targeted support for private landlords to encourage them to offer or maintain housing for people with disabilities. The policy includes grants to help landlords repair or convert empty homes for use as settled or temporary accommodation for homeless individuals.
Telegraph
21-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Labour council denies being ‘anti-ice cream' despite van ban plans
A Labour-run council has denied being 'anti-ice cream' over plans to restrict their sale in some streets. The Royal Borough of Greenwich in London wants to ban itinerant ice cream vans from trading in more than 30 roads in the area, including King William Walk, a popular tourist site near the Royal Observatory. But the plans have faced opposition from the likes of father-of-seven Paul St Hilaire Sr, who has been selling ice creams in the borough for 30 years. He previously challenged the ban at Bromley magistrates' court, which last August ordered the council to rerun its consultation into the proposals. The case cost taxpayers £52,000. However, the ban is now expected to shortly be approved at a full council meeting after 16 local organisations and residents vote in favour during the new consultation, with nine opposed. The council said the restrictions were needed in King William Walk because ice cream queues were blocking the path for pedestrians, particularly causing problems for the elderly, the disabled and those with pushchairs. Residents have also raised concerns about pollution from the vans, which keep their engines running to power their machines even while at a standstill. Cllr Pat Slattery, the authority's cabinet member for neighbourhoods, told a recent council meeting: 'I think it is important to say that the council is not anti-ice cream. There are ice cream vendors in a reasonable spit of where this ice cream van regularly parks up.' Cllr Anthony Okereke, leader of the council, added: 'We are not banning ice creams in Greenwich in any way, shape or form. We do love an ice cream, actually.' Ban 'ludicrous' However, Susan Hall, a Conservative London Assembly member, described the ban as 'ludicrous'. She told The Telegraph: 'The council should rethink this policy. Are they all hell-bent on destroying any fun in Sadiq Khan's London?' In documents seen by The Telegraph, one local said they feared exhaust fumes were damaging the health of people living nearby, with some ice cream vans keeping their engines running for up to eight hours a day. Another complained the vans blocked views of the area's World Heritage Site, while also contributing to noise pollution caused by their chimes. The University of Greenwich was among the groups to support the restrictions. It said King William Walk was an 'unsuitable location' for ice cream vans because of the obstruction caused to traffic and pedestrians, while also warning that they 'affect local businesses'. Mr St Hilaire Sr has previously accused the council of wanting to 'stop genuine competition'. He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service last year: 'I've been doing my business for 30 years, I've raised a family. I have all my children that are here working and providing services for the wider community. All I want is to be able to sell my ice cream.'
BBC News
21-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Greenwich park ice cream van sparks legal battle with council
Plans to prohibit ice cream vans from trading on a street next to Greenwich Park have prompted a local councillor to state that the local authority is not "anti-ice cream".Greenwich Council's cabinet has recommended that King William Walk be designated as a prohibited street for itinerant ice cream included the thoroughfare at the north-west corner of the park on a list of streets where the trade of ice cream is ice cream van operator Paul St Hilaire Sr successfully challenged the decision in court on the basis that the council's decision was not legally sound. Bromley Magistrates' Court ordered the council to re-run the public consultation process and review whether King William Walk should be included in the list of prohibited Local Democracy Reporting Service previously revealed through a Freedom of Information request that Greenwich Council spent £52,000 of public money on legal costs for the council carried out their court-ordered consultation process earlier this a council cabinet meeting on 9 April, it was revealed that out of the 25 organisations and residents that responded to the consultation, 16 were in favour of the prohibition and nine were against Pat Slattery, a ward councillor for Greenwich Park, which includes King William Walk, supported the prohibition told the cabinet meeting: "I think it is important to say that the council is not anti-ice cream. "There are ice cream vendors in a reasonable spit of where this ice cream van regularly parks up." 'Not banning ice-creams' At the cabinet meeting councillor Jackie Smith said the only grounds on which the council can prevent itinerant ice cream trading on any of its streets "is the interest in preventing the obstruction to traffic or undue interference or inconvenience to persons using the street". She added: "We have had lots of complaints from lots of residents of King William Walk in the past."Interim director of legal services Azuka Onuorah told the council that if the ban was challenged again, the prohibition remains in place pending the outcome of the challenge, which entitles the council to take enforcement the cabinet approved the decision to recommend the King William Walk prohibition to full council, the council leader Anthony Okereke said: "We are not banning ice creams in Greenwich in any way shape or form. "We do love an ice cream, actually."
