Tooting: Councillor says women and children are being 'failed' in temporary accommodation; Wandsworth Council denies

A local councillor has criticised the state of Carnie Lodge temporary accommodation, as well as other temporary accommodations within Wandsworth, saying that they are "not good enough".

Hannah Stanislaus, a Labour councillor for the Bedford ward, recently visited a resident who had made contact about Carnie Lodge temporary accommodation.

The councillor says that women and children in these units are being 'failed' after sharing footage on Twitter of the accommodation, which shows the condition of some of the bathrooms and a windowsill within the building.

Carnie Lodge is a temporary housing unit - a place where people are housed until permanent social housing can be found.

Stanislaus, who was homeless four years ago and currently lives in temporary accommodation, is wanting to be a voice for those who are underrepresented within the community, saying reasons such as these are why they became a councillor.

Wandsworth Council has strongly denied Stanislaus' claims that Carnie Lodge is substandard. The council say that the standard of accommodation is of "good quality" and that there are regular checks to ensure the standards of the properties are upheld.

Pictures were also sent to Nub News of an inspection at Carnie Lodge on June 29.

What Councillor Stanislaus has said

Stanislaus was recently made aware of the accommodation and saw some of the conditions before posting on Twitter.

Hannah spoke to Nub News about the situation.

They said: "I went in to visit a resident who had contacted me as they had been in a long time. They are aware that I am their councillor and we haven't gotten any further in terms of our temporary accommodation.

"I was told two years before I would move into permanent social housing and it's now gone up to five.

"These women and children don't have a voice. They shouldn't have to live with that.

"These temporary accommodation units are in need of repair, in need of some money being spent on them. The people that live in these units, such as Carnie Lodge, don't deserve to live in what feels like a prison and not a home.

"It is part of the temporary accommodation stock - it's not a mother and baby unit. It's of concern that there was a warden there two years ago and the decline of that place was about two years ago.

"The videos are only part of what I saw. The women and children in there are being failed."

Despite only being recently elected, Stanislaus is motivated to get stuck into the issues that they promised to get involved with. They described the social housing situation in Wandsworth as a 'crisis' and says that just because these people are being given a roof over their heads, doesn't mean they deserve to live in bad conditions.

In a story in 2019 with MyLondon , Hannah spoke about the Nightingale Square temporary accommodation where they had previously lived. The councillor has now moved on, but claims that the experiences have stuck with them.

"It's been eight weeks now [since being a councillor] and I said I would do the things for people like me", Stanislaus added.

"I was homeless four years ago and I've still been in temporary accommodation for four years and have moved three times. There is a social housing crisis in Wandsworth.

"Just because it's a roof for these people doesn't mean they deserve to live the way they do.

"Now that I'm a councillor there are things that need to be said. The social housing crisis in Wandsworth is not going to get better.

"A piece of me still lives in Nightingale Square and cannot forget what it's like to live there. I'm a human being and feel for the men and women who live there.

"They are little blocks in affluent places and nobody knows what goes on in those blocks. It's time for change."

What Wandsworth Council has said

Wandsworth Council has strongly denied the claims that there is a 'crisis' in regards to temporary housing in Wandsworth, saying that complaints are rarely made from residents of these houses and that they are increasing the number of affordable homes that are available.

The council has also sent pictures from a routine inspection on June 29 of the accommodation, some of which are within this article.

A statement from the council said: "We absolutely reject these unfounded claims. The standard of accommodation here is of good quality and is regularly checked to ensure these standards are upheld.

"It is very rare to receive complaints about the condition of this accommodation from the people who are actually living here, but whenever complaints are received they are responded to promptly and effectively.

"People who find themselves in urgent housing need are provided with safe and secure temporary accommodation until they can be offered a permanent home. The majority of the temporary accommodation we provide is in self-contained homes within this borough and not outside Wandsworth.

"In order to provide these permanent homes we have approved a wide ranging package of measures, including buying and building new homes so we can ensure that people in genuine need receive help and support and can be offered permanent homes close to the areas they grew up in.

"We are also increasing the supply of affordable homes with 3,000 built over the past decade, another 1,700 due to be completed within the next three years and a target of 18,000 over the coming decade."

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