Tackling housing challenges together

I’m honoured to be taking on the role of Lead Member for Housing at Richmond Council. It’s a huge responsibility and a vital one.

Straddling the River Thames and home to thriving town centres and ample green spaces, Richmond upon Thames is one of London’s most desirable boroughs to live in. With the national housing crisis driving up costs, the borough’s desirability has made it vulnerable to these housing pressures which means residents are increasingly struggling to keep up.

At the same time, our Housing team is working hard across the board to meet a wide range of needs. That means delivering new homes, from social rent and London Living Rent to shared ownership, so that residents have real choice and more routes into stable housing. It means moving forward with development and ensuring tenants are better supported through initiatives like the Tenant’s Champion. This work is vital if we’re going to meet the scale and variety of housing needs across the borough.

The reality is that with less homes available on the market alongside the cost-of-living crisis, the number of people losing their homes and becoming homeless is increasing. These circumstances are fuelling an emergency in the borough and across the capital as councils work to ensure that people have temporary accommodation when they are in a crisis.

This is one of the issues I care most deeply about. The rise in temporary accommodation is not just a housing problem: it’s a children’s issue, a public health issue, and a challenge to the fairness of our borough. These are families in real need, and we must act.

While these challenges are important, I’m also stepping into this role at a time of significant progress and I’m so proud of what Richmond Council has already achieved. Under Cllr Millard’s leadership, we’ve seen a clear shift in outcomes as well as policy. For the first time in years, we're seeing a real increase in starts on site for genuinely affordable homes. We had 121 starts two years ago, 135 last year, and we’re on track for over 250 more this year and next. That’s more than 500 new affordable homes being delivered.

Each one of these is a real home and a step forward in addressing the growing demand for affordable housing. As I visit developments to see construction and new homes being completed in the coming weeks and months, I look forward to seeing in-person how we are laying the foundations of a fairer borough. This is the kind of borough I want to continue to build, where everyone has the chance to live safely and securely in a home that suits their needs.

We’re also investing in improving the quality of existing social housing, working closely with housing associations to raise standards and respond better to residents. By improving repairs; tackling damp and mould; and supporting retrofits to improve sustainability and energy efficiency, we are continuing to ensure that every home in the borough meets the standards our residents deserve.

There’s much more to do, and I believe we have the tools, the team, and most importantly, the determination to keep moving forward. I want to thank all the residents, officers, and partners who are already playing a vital role in this and know that we can continuing working together to shape a housing system that truly works for everyone

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