Anne McGurk (1951-2024)
We are deeply saddened to share the news that our former Chair Anne McGurk has died at the age...
We are pleased to confirm that we are in talks with another housing association L&Q on the potential transfer of hundreds of homes in Grove Park to our management and ownership.
This would be an opportunity for us to extend our model of resident leadership and shareholding membership to people living in an area next to our existing homes in Downham and Bellingham.
The plans involve just under 1,500 homes originally acquired by L&Q through a stock transfer from Lewisham Council.
Any transfer would be subject to consultation with those residents. L&Q has written to all affected households and we are looking forward to getting in touch with those residents to tell them more about we offer at Phoenix.
If the transfer proceeds, then the residents in Grove Park would have access to all of our involvement and engagement opportunities, up to Board membership.
As we near the 13th anniversary of our creation, we are proud that our Chair remains a Phoenix tenant and that all of our residents have the opportunity to steer our future direction and services through a wide range of involvement groups.
We remain absolutely committed to investing in our existing homes and in the Downham and Bellingham area more widely through initiatives such as our annual £100,000 Community Chest fund. We have written to all existing Phoenix residents to inform them of the proposals.
Phoenix Community Housing’s Chief Executive Jim Ripley said: “This would be a fantastic opportunity to take on hundreds of new homes right on our doorstep, and we’re very grateful to L&Q for offering it. We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved over the last 13 years through our resident-led model and it would be fantastic to offer residents in Grove Park an equally strong say on the future of our services and the area.
“We’re looking forward to meeting tenants and leaseholders in Grove Park over the coming weeks and listening to their views. I hope they will be excited to learn more about some of the ground-breaking work that we do with our residents and local partners to try to build a better future for everyone in south Lewisham.”
John Lumley, Strategic Director of Assets and Regeneration at L&Q said, "Lewisham is a flagship borough for us. Our first proper office opened on Deptford High Street in 1970, and we haven’t stopped working to provide homes and manage communities in the area ever since.
“As part of our commitment to delivering the homes Lewisham needs, we’ve identified an opportunity to support a fantastic locally based housing provider.
“We’re proud of everything we’ve achieved at Grove Park since 2008, and we’re confident that Phoenix Community Housing will provide an excellent service that residents can be proud of. Over the next few months, we’ll be working closely with the local community, to ensure that everyone has their say on the proposed changes.”
Alongside the consultation, the proposals will also require due diligence from both parties and we would not expect any transfer to be completed until towards the end of 2021.
We will provide further updates on our website.
