Wandle colleagues and residents celebrated the newly built Rowan and Alan House in Lewisham with a ribbon-cutting ceremony together with Featherstone Homes.

The scheme provides 61 homes in total, as well as a commercial space and transforms a vacant site next to the historic railway arches, kickstarting a wider regeneration of the new Bermondsey neighbourhood.

Wandle have purchased 29 affordable homes from Featherstone Homes, working closely together over the development phases.

Alan House provides 16 shared ownership homes, and Rowan House provides 13 social rented homes. The 29 affordable homes, funded by Wandle with grant support from the Greater London Authority (GLA) are located only a 10-minute walk from South Bermondsey and Surrey Quays station, with direct links to the city.

Anne Waterhouse, Chief Executive of Wandle, said: “Our roots are firmly and proudly south London, and it’s an exciting time for us to be involved in the regeneration of South Bermondsey.

“Wandle now has 336 homes in Lewisham, and where the opportunities arise, we are committed to delivering more new homes that are safe, secure and sustainable in the borough.

“At this scheme we were able to fund a further eight affordable homes over and above what was originally required by the planning consent. This means that we can now provide homes for eight more local families, setting them up for success in this developing community.”

Valerie Vaughan-Dick, Chair of Wandle’s Board, said: “We are building new homes that meet the needs of our communities, by working with housebuilders, developers and other partners to bring our vision to deliver 500 homes by March 2028 – including these 29 affordable homes – to life.

“It was a pleasure to see first-hand the positive impact these homes have had for our new residents, many who have been in temporary housing for far too long.”

Wandle resident, Helen Ademiluyi said, “My home is peaceful and safe. I have recently moved to Rowan House with my children after we previously lived in a hostel for seven years. It was cramped and not ideal, so it is wonderful to now have the space to relax and make a home.”

On Friday 14 November, we welcomed Helen Hayes, MP for Dulwich and West Norwood at our French, Finch and Margerat blocks to view the fire safety works we are undertaking. 

The proposed works, being undertaken for us by Higgins Group involve removing the existing insulation and replacing it with non-combustible materials. In addition, the timber decking will be replaced with fire-safe aluminium decking. The project is expected to last 18 months and is due to be completed by October 2026. 

The work relating to the leasehold homes has been funded by the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS), and no costs have been passed onto homeowners. In contrast Wandle is funding approximately £2.34 million for the works to the social rented homes due to not being eligible to access the additional government funding, because of the works contract being in place ahead of the funding being announced.   

Anne Waterhouse, Chief Executive of Wandle, said “The safety of our residents is our priority and appreciate how disruptive the work is. We want to make the experience as stress-free as possible, and we keep in close contact through monthly meetings, with a dedicated website that all impacted residents have access to. 

“We welcome any opportunity to meet with elected officials who represent our residents and share how we can work together to deliver homes that are safe and sustainable.” 

It was useful to discuss our approach with Helen and raise the wider implications of having to fund the cost of works to the social homes ourselves.   

Awaab’s Law has officially come into legal effect today (Monday 27 October 2025). 

Introduced in response to the tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in 2020 which was caused by prolonged exposure to mould in his family’s social housing flat, the law aims to ensure that no tenant is left living in unsafe or unhealthy conditions due to inaction or delay. 

You can expect us to be more proactive at the first sign or hint of damp and mould and log the issue with our contact centre. In the case of an emergency, we will carry out initial repairs within 24 hours. If the case is significant, a surveyor will visit within 10 working days, and within 28 days for routine cases. 

After the survey, you’ll receive a written report within three working days that will explain what happens next.  

In both significant and routine cases, our damp and mould team will be in touch three months later to check that the problem has not returned. 

If you have an issue with mould or damp, call us on 0300 2000 120 or email customerservices@wandle.com.

Wandle is to deliver affordable homes for social rent at the historic County Hall Kingston in southwest London. 

In partnership with London Square, the 5.2-acre site includes the Grade II listed former headquarters of Surrey County Council. The redevelopment will bring 292 high-quality new homes to the area, including 26 for social rent, alongside extensive landscaping, new green spaces, and commercial space. Restoration and construction work is already underway to sensitively refurbish the historic County Hall and deliver the new-build elements of the scheme.

Adam Lawrence, Chief Executive Officer, London Square said: “Wandle Housing has a significant presence across south London, and we are delighted to be working with them at County Hall Kingston. This historic site has stood empty for many years and it’s fantastic to take another step forward in the re-opening this important space for the local community.”

Anne Waterhouse, Chief Executive of Wandle said: “I am delighted that Wandle will be providing   much needed social rent homes in Kingston. The redevelopment, led by London Square, provides us with an opportunity to extend our provision of social homes within the borough increasing our community presence that will benefit all our residents.”

Wandle has secured £55 million of funding from the Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme (AHGS).

The fund will support the development of 94 homes across London for both Shared Ownership and Social Rent and will enable us to continue to invest in the continued safety and quality of our existing homes.

Launched in 2020, the AHGS bond issuance programme is backed by a guarantee from the UK Government and offers fixed-rate loans of up to 30 years to the social housing sector. From March 2024, registered providers were able to use the scheme to invest in property improvements in addition to funding new affordable homes.

Anne Waterhouse, Wandle Chief Executive, commented: “We are delighted to have successfully raised £55 million of funding from the Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme as the scheme’s second London based borrower.  The collaborative partnership between Venn and our finance team enabled us to secure a deal that creates immediate financial capacity, which we can now deploy to help alleviate housing pressures in the Capital.

Dr Valerie Vaughan-Dick MBE FRCGP (Hon), Chair of Wandle’s Board, commented: “I’d like to thank everyone involved in this transaction. This much needed funding will  enable us to continue to deliver new affordable high-quality homes across south London, while progressing our investment in our resident’s existing homes.

We are the second housing association under the Scheme and will fund critical investment in our existing homes, including relating to fire safety works.

We know that our current repairs service isn’t meeting the standards you deserve, and we’re committed to making real improvements. To do this, we need your voice at the centre of this change.

We’re setting up a Repairs Improvement Panel and would like to invite you to take part.

Why are we doing this?
We’ve heard some of the issues already – missed appointments, unclear priorities, and inconsistent service. We want to go further by working together to design a service that works for you. Your insights and experiences will help shape the changes we make, ensuring they reflect what matters most to you and your neighbours.

What’s involved?
• Quarterly meetings, with occasional smaller group sessions to look at specific issues
• Initial meeting in person, then hybrid (online or in-office – your choice)
• £20 voucher per meeting to thank you for your time and contribution.

What’s in it for you?
You’ll have the opportunity to influence how our repairs service works in the future. Together, we’ll explore improvements such as:
• More flexible appointment times that take into consideration your working hours or the school run
• Clearer repair priorities for residents with caring responsibilities
• Better standards for operatives in your home – like wearing shoe covers or signposting support services.

We are hosting an info session online on Wednesday 25 June at 6.30pm. If you’re passionate about improving services in your community and want to be part of making things better, please email customerempowerment@wandle.com.

Wandle’s flagship development 46-76 Summerstown in Merton reached a significant milestone this week, with a ‘topping out’ ceremony marking the latest construction phase.

The single eight-storey development will provide 93 much-needed affordable homes. These include 39 London Living Rent homes and 54 Shared Ownership homes, which promise to be high-quality and energy-efficient.

The development is supported by a social housing grant from the Greater London Authority (GLA) and is part of a wider regeneration project in the area. Originally designed by Concept Architect CZWG Architects LLP, it has been updated by Higgins Partnership, which is working closely with the GLA to bring the project to life.

Yinka Bolaji, Executive Director of Development and Property at Wandle, said: “I am delighted to see how the building work at Summerstown is coming along, and am looking forward to welcoming our future residents.

“Our residents are at the heart of Wandle’s business, and I am proud of the high-quality and affordable homes we will provide to one of our core boroughs.”

Dominic Higgins, Chief Operating Officer at Higgins, said: “We are proud to reach this milestone at Summerstown, which will not only deliver affordable homes but leave a legacy for the people who live and work in this neighbourhood. This development exemplifies our commitment to creating sustainable, well-designed homes that meet the needs of the community today and for generations to come.”

As part of the development, the local authority will benefit from over £150,000 of S106 contributions, which will go towards funding vital local public health and education facilities. The council tax benefit to the borough will be c.£180,000 per year.

Both Wandle and Higgins are committed to building better, stronger, safer, and more sustainable communities that deliver high-quality homes for residents and leave a legacy of positive impact.

Wandle has secured another government grant from the Warm Homes Social Housing Fund Wave 3 to improve the energy efficiency of some of our most inefficient homes.

We are one of the 27 members of the Retrofit London Strategic Partnership which has an ambitious target to retrofit 15,000 homes across the capital by 2028 using a £78m grant.

Yinka Bolaji, Executive Director – Development & Property, said, “This is amazing news, and I am pleased to see Wandle are shaping the future of housing in south London.

“As part of the partnership, we plan to improve 129 homes by installing wall and loft insulation, air source heat pumps, solar panels, and improving ventilation using our £1.3m allocation.

“Together, these works will help us achieve our target of 90% portfolio at EPC C by March 2027. Residents will benefit from warmer homes, reduced fuel bills and reduced risks of damp and mould.”

We are already working on SHDF Wave 2.2, for which we won £1m in 2024 to improve 121 homes.

International Women’s Day is a worldwide celebration with marches, events and campaigns highlighting women’s progress and ongoing challenges. It started in the US and became a global event in 1975.

When it comes to Women we could go as far back in time as memories and history permit. Women have always achieved (this was not always documented). The mere fact we are tasked with continuing the human race albeit with the help of a man is testimony to this. It was and to a greater degree still is the women’s duty to bring up the next generation with sometimes very little input from the men.  It is important for women and girls to understand how far we have come to achieve equality in just over 100 years. 

UK women did not have the right to say how they wanted their country (UK) to be run. In 1908 Emmeline Pankhurst (a leading figure in the suffragette movement) was organising protests demanding voting rights for women. This inspired many suffragettes to adopt direct action tactics, including chaining themselves to government buildings to demand voting rights.

Finally in 1918 women over 30 could vote, bear in mind all men over 21 could vote.  Not happy with this woman still protested until in 1928 all women over 21 could vote. After this mammoth achievement the first women to have a seat in House of Commons was Nancy Astor in 1918. This paved the way for future generations of female politicians.

After 59 years of winning the right to vote we had our first prime minister – Margaret Thatcher. She was known as the ‘Iron Lady’, and rumour has it that she could make men weep by just one look.

Women no longer see roles in professions as “men only”. However, I believe we need to encourage more women to go into professions such as skilled trades and manual labour, construction, information technology, programme and software development. Within housing most surveyors are male. To change this, we need initiatives to focus on promoting the profession to women, providing mentorship opportunities.

After a century of smashing glass ceilings and rewriting laws we have gone from needing permission to open a bank account to running those banks!  We still have a lot to achieve however but to put things in perspective the UKs women football team (the lionesses) were the first UK team to win the UEFA.  This was England’s first major international championship since the men’s football team won the 1966 world cup!!! 

Did you know before:

1919  – Women could not serve on a jury

1923 – Divorce was restricted for women.  Women had to prove their husbands had committed adultery and or abuse and abandonment to get a divorce.

1940 – Many professions, including teaching and civil service roles, forced women to leave work once they married.

Imagine a gender-equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge gender equality, and #AccelerateAction.