Hakeem Osinaike, Brent Director of Housing, appointed Strategic Director in Southwark

 

 Hakeem Osinaike

FROM SOUTHWARK COUNCIL

Southwark Council is delighted to announce that it has appointed Hakeem Osinaike as its new Strategic Director of Housing. Hakeem joins Southwark from Brent Council where he has been Director of Housing since 2017.

Hakeem’s long career in housing began in 1996 when he joined the London Borough of Greenwich as a Complaints Officer. Since then he has worked in many London borough housing departments, including in Southwark between 2000 and 2004.

Passionate about social housing, gaining insight to people’s needs and exploring innovative ways to deliver services, Hakeem has a Master’s degree in Housing and an MPA from the University of Birmingham. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing.

Hakeem Osinaike said:

I am absolutely delighted to take on the role of Strategic Director of Housing for London’s biggest council landlord. Southwark’s incredible energy and ambition to improve the lives of its residents is clear, whether that’s through building thousands of council homes, working to tackle the scourge of homelessness, or driving up standards in its existing homes.

I’m looking forward to working with Southwark’s hard-working housing teams to build on what they’ve achieved, and ensure we channel compassion and empathy into everything we do. Housing is about so much more than bricks and mortar. Putting a roof over someone’s head transforms lives and families, and I can’t wait to start working with Southwark’s communities, members and staff to deliver what local people need.

Althea Loderick, Chief Executive, said:

I’m really pleased that Hakeem Osinaike will be our next Strategic Director of Housing, bringing with him a whole career’s worth of housing experience from the frontline through to senior management. Southwark’s housing department is responsible for the largest number of council homes in London, and there is a huge amount to get stuck into, from day to day management to transformational priorities like building thousands of new council homes. I believe that with Hakeem at the helm, we can realise our ambition to be a truly great council housing landlord. We can’t wait for Hakeem to join us and get started.

Cllr Kieron Williams, Leader of Southwark Council, said:

Southwark wants the very best for its tenants, and we need a Strategic Director who shares that ambition and can help deliver our plans. We have already built more council and social rent homes than any other council in recent years, and our ambitions don’t stop there. We are committed to building more, and also making sure the homes our residents live in are safe, dry and warm. I know Hakeem will work hand in hand with residents to transform our housing offer, putting them at the heart of all our decisions.

Hakeem Osinaike will join Southwark on 1st March 2024.

 

 Editor's note

Althea Loderick, Southwark CEO was previously Strategic Director of Resources in Brent.

It is likely to be a challenging job for Hakeem as the Southwark housing department  has a bit of a history.  

In 2016 a council officer was jailed for 5 years over a £2.4m housing fraud and more investigations followed.

In November 2022 the Housing Ombudsman found against the council as landlord. LINK

As recently as December 2023 Southwark News reported suspension of staff and a possible fraud investigation  over estate works that went £4.2m over budget. LINK

And then of course there is the controversial Elephant and Castle block, refused by Southwark Council with their decision overturned when Landlease appealed to the Planning Inspectorate. LINK

 

Makes Brent Council seem a bed of roses!

 

Doubts over 'airspace' (addition of extra storeys to existing council housing) developments

 'Airspace' developments have been mentioned in to context of Brent Council's proposals for infill on its council estates. Airspace is when additional storeys are added to current housing and recently some specialist companies have been set up to develop such schemes.

Now Inside Housing (FULL REPORT) following an FoE request has revealed that Southwark Council has dropped plans following a report from an engineering consultancy:

Southwark Council, which had been pursuing the plans since 2019, received a report from engineering consultancy Arup in October 2020 that said the majority of buildings under consideration would not meet modern requirements to prevent collapse.  

The borough continued to investigate the potential for modular housing to be added to 26 buildings in the borough for more than two years after receiving the report, commissioning further expert opinions.  

It finally dropped the plans in July last year, having spent £3.75m working on the plan, it revealed in a Freedom of Information (FOI) response to Inside Housing.

On May 10th Brent Council Planning Committee approved an application to add an extra storey to Fairfield Court in Harlesden.  LINK

Lessons for Brent? Yes to Fair Redevelopment welcomes Southwark Council’s U-Turn on rooftop development

 

 

With the current controversy over Brent Council's infill proposals for our council estates I thought residents and readers would be interested in this Southwark campaign by Yes to Fair Development.  Building extra storeys on existing blocks has featured as a possibility in this borough as well.

 

Yes to Fair Development Press Release 

 

The group has pledged to continue the fight to stop unfair infill proposals which threaten to make residents’ lives a misery for years to come, removing tenant halls, play space and green space from estates, replacing it with housing. 

 

 

After the worst heatwave on record, with temperatures above 40 Degrees, residents point out the vital role played by green space and trees in keeping their homes cool. A BBC heat map shows that the hottest areas in Southwark are Peckham, North Southwark and Bermondsey, whereas leafy Dulwich stays cooler than average.

 

 

Yes to Fair Redevelopment says the Council should take over empty homes and repair existing council homes rather than demolish them. The group is dismayed by the Council’s stance which seems to link major works and repairs to infill development, making residents believe they can’t have one without the other. Now that the rooftop development is cancelled, the repairs must still go ahead.

 

 

Some damaging schemes remain, including the demolition of people's homes and the removal of green space and trees at the Dodson and Amigo Estate and the destruction of a play area at the Elim Estate. Residents are fighting these proposals and they deserve everyone's support. Some schemes, such as the Vauban and Brenchley Gardens have been indefinitely suspended, showing that if you fight, you can win.

 

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Tanya Murat from Yes to Fair Redevelopment said:

We are in favour of council housing, and we’ve been fighting to defend it from Southwark’s demolitions and sell-offs for the past 20 years. The infill policy is a sign of the failure of Southwark’s housing policy, not a sign of success. We all need to get behind the campaigns to put residents at the heart of housing policy, where democracy matters and that includes our right to have a say over what happens on our estates, our green spaces and our community facilities.

 

 

A Nunhead Estate campaigner said:

 Residents have fought hard to raise awareness of the safety and wellbeing impact of rooftop builds and are hugely relieved the council has made the right decision. It has been exhausting to live with this hanging over our heads. A weight has been lifted.

 

 

George Anthony, Southampton Way Estate said:
Southampton Way Estate was targeted as part of the rooftop development scheme, something that was completely designed and funded before residents were made aware of such plans or even considered. It felt like this was a project that would happen no matter what the residents opinions were! We fought hard and even made contact with the media. The whole idea was ludicrous from the beginning! As a community we came together to express this by means of visible banners that went up around our estate. They may have infill plans ahead for Southampton Way, like when they proposed to build on our green. This is just frightening and although this battle may be won the war is still on and I for one will not be giving up the fight!