The Delivering Affordable Homes in Partnership Task and Finish Group met to discuss a report outlining the group's findings and recommendations on how Lewisham Council can deliver more affordable housing through effective partnerships. The group agreed to the report and its recommendations, which will now be submitted to Mayor Damien Egan and the cabinet for consideration. These recommendations include a post-procurement review of the Strategic Partnership Agreement, embedding KPIs and performance measures, and resident engagement in the small-sites pilot.

Delivering Affordable Homes in Partnership Report

The Task and Finish Group agreed to a report containing recommendations to be made as part of the review. The report noted that the Task & Finish Group (TFG) on Delivering Affordable Homes in Partnership was established in November 2024 to explore how the council can work through innovative partnerships to meet its affordable housing goals. The report recognised the impact of challenges such as limited grant funding, unfavourable market conditions, rising building and borrowing costs, and new pressures linked to decarbonisation¹, decent homes standards and new fire safety requirements. The report made a number of recommendations, including:

• Post-procurement review of the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA). The report recommended that a light-touch lessons learned review be carried out after the SPA appointment (mid-2026) to assess whether the partnership structure, governance, and KPIs are delivering on agreed objectives, and identify refinements for future phases.
• Embed KPIs and performance measures. The report recommended that clear KPIs be built into the SPA, for example: proportion of affordable housing, pace of delivery, build quality and compliance, social value, and use of local suppliers.
• Early warning points and agreed actions. The report recommended that clear early warning points and pre-defined actions (such as design adjustments, grant applications or tenure mix changes) be agreed to keep schemes on track if costs or values shift.
• Partnership charter and shared values. The report recommended that a short Partnership Charter be developed at the start of the SPA setting out shared values on affordability, design standards, social impact and resident engagement, supported by regular milestone reviews.
• Knowledge management and continuity. The report recommended that a simple process be put in place for recording key decisions, assumptions and contact points so that knowledge and understanding are retained across the life of the partnership.
• Local skills and supply chain commitments. The report recommended ensuring that SPA and joint-venture partners commit to delivering measurable outcomes on apprenticeships, local jobs and supply chain opportunities, aligned with the Council's Social Value Framework.
• Strategic capacity and forward planning. The report recommended exploring ways to fund additional strategic capacity – for example, through small partnership contributions, shared posts, or more flexible use of existing budgets.
• Partnership prospectus for investors. The report recommended publishing a short partnership prospectus setting out the council's priorities, how to engage, and what the process looks like for potential development or investment partners.
• Resident engagement in the small-sites pilot. The report recommended embedding resident engagement in the Small Sites Aggregator pilot from the outset, with a clear published pipeline, transparent timelines and visible commitments to local jobs and suppliers.
• Future scrutiny and learning. The report recommended that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee should revisit progress after 12 months to review delivery under the SPA and small-sites programme, capturing learning for future housing strategy and partnership work.

The report also noted that Lewisham already engages in joint ventures with private developers to increase affordable housing delivery, citing the partnership with Grainger at Besson Street, a 100% build-to-rent scheme delivering 324 homes, including 114 at London Living Rent². The report highlighted the council's mixed economy housing delivery model, combining Joint ventures (JVs); Acquisitions; and Land-led development agreements. Recent examples include Willow Way and Apollo Business Centre, which aim to unlock stalled sites and deliver high-quality affordable homes while meeting rigorous commercial thresholds to maintain programme viability.

Additional Recommendations

An additional recommendation was made that the overview and scrutiny committee requests an annual report from housing development and planning teams on affordable housing delivery, providing a comprehensive overview of progress across the borough. The report should include all affordable housing, including section 106 units³ and present data in line with the national planning policy framework definition of affordable housing broken down by tenure type. Two further recommendations related to evidence gathered during a meeting with Tom Copley, the London Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development. The first recommendation was for the Council to engage proactively and at pace with City Hall's forthcoming developer investment fund to position a pipeline of eligible schemes for early consideration on launch in order to maximize access. The second recommendation was for the Council to formalize a rolling horizon scan and preparation plan for any housing relevant policy and regulatory changes, working in partnership with the GLA, registered providers and developers so that any possible barriers are addressed early on and do not delay affordable housing delivery.

Declarations of Interest

Councillors were asked to declare any personal interest they had in any item on the agenda, but none were declared. The council's code of conduct requires members to declare any personal interest they have in any item on the agenda. There are three types of personal interest referred to in the Council's Member Code of Conduct:

• Disclosable pecuniary interests
• Other registerable interests
• Non-registerable interests.