A single mother living in Wandsworth with her young son was recently awarded £650 from our helping hand fund after hitting financial difficulty.

Ms Js* father had sadly passed away, and she had to contribute towards the funeral costs. This had left her in rent arrears and struggling to pay her utility bills.  

She contacted our resident support team because she could not afford to replace her faulty washing machine and oven.. The cost of travelling to and from the laundrette was a further cost she could not afford.

The team assisted her in completing the helping hand application and processed it as a matter of urgency. She was then awarded £500 in Argos vouchers to purchase a new washing machine and oven, as well as £150 in Sainsbury vouchers. In addition, she agreed to an achievable payment plan to pay off her rent arrears.

3.2 million people are living with hygiene poverty in the UK, and the reality of low income is that it restricts people’s options, leaving many caught between being able to heat their home, pay their rent, eat or be clean.

“I was completely floored by the amount of pressure I was under, and your team did their absolute best to remove the pressure, but you also reinstalled my belief in the kindness of people again.

“I feel like a different person, and I will be eternally grateful for your kindness and understanding. My life has changed dramatically in the last 24 hours.”

Ms J*

If you are struggling with any of the issues mentioned in this article, or are unable to pay your rent and bills, do not hesitate to contact us, we are here to help and will support you to stay in your home.

*We cannot provide you with financial advice, but we will always signpost you to support agencies that can.

A family in Bermondsey can now look forward to their future after being moved into a Wandle property.

Ms O* and her two children, aged 12 and 10, were suffering for years, enduring domestic abuse by Ms O’s husband.

Ms O’s physical and mental wellbeing were massively affected by living in such conditions, that she found herself worrying about what the future held.

Due to the circumstances and the danger her and her children faced if they returned to their home, with the support of the police and social services, Southwark Council moved them into temporary accommodation. Due to their circumstances, they were assessed as homeless and remained in temporary accommodation whilst a permanent home was sourced.

After a year and a half, Southwark Council nominated them for a Wandle home in Bermondsey, a move that meant the children did not have to move schools and they could remain near their support network.

Like many families fleeing from domestic abuse, they had little to furnish their new home. To support them in setting up their new home, our resident support team provided £800 in vouchers to cover the necessary basics.

“Wandle have given me, and my children hope, and I am grateful for the help I have received. The £800 voucher has been a real lifesaver and has stretched to allow me to buy the basics for our home. I cannot thank Wandle enough.”

Ms O*

We take domestic abuse seriously at Wandle, we know how brave it is to escape this kind of behaviour and start again. We are DAHA (Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance) accredited and prioritise you and your family’s safety. You can read more about what constitutes domestic abuse on our specialist page – Domestic Abuse – Wandle Housing Association.

Wandle recently acquired 21 new homes as part of a mixed-tenure scheme in Southwark.

Developed by Camrose London, the scheme consists of 14 social rent homes and seven homes available for shared ownership.

Available in 2025, the scheme consists of 71 superbly designed studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, located near Burgess Park and within the award-winning Old Kent Road area – a London district poised for significant regeneration led-growth. In addition, residents will benefit from a shared amenity space, and a children’s playground.

Anne Waterhouse, Chief Executive of Wandle said, “We are delighted to be supplying these new homes to people who would otherwise struggle to afford a home of their own. Having a shared amenity space for all is an important feature we look for in our new schemes, contributing to helping break down the stigma facing social housing residents. I look forward to welcoming our new residents when they move in.”

We will keep you updated on this development as it takes shape.

We are pleased to confirm that, following a review, we will not be passing on any cost for historic building safety remediation works related to external wall systems to our homeowners in buildings above 11 metres or 5 storeys in height. 

Although there remains an option for landlords to recharge elements of these remediation works to homeowners, Wandle will seek to recover where possible, costs from the original developers and contractors and fund the balance. In addition, we will access the government support from the building safety fund when it becomes available.

Anne Waterhouse, Chief Executive at Wandle said, “The safety of our customers is our priority, and we are committed to providing homes that we would be happy to live in. We have considered the regulations in the Building Safety Act that seeks to protect homeowners from having to meet building safety remediation costs. We appreciate that this uncertainty has impacted our homeowners, and we are pleased to be able to now provide assurance that this won’t be a cost borne by our homeowners.” 

This homeowner protection applies to buildings of and above 11m or 5 storeys in height. For homeowners living in below 11m buildings, we will continue to seek appropriate and proportionate lower cost mitigations as well as hold to account any responsible party to recover costs if we have a legal basis to do so. 

We are working hard to progress the negotiations with the original developers and warranty providers so that we can determine the timing for the works to be delivered. We will be keeping our homeowners updated about the scheduled plan of works throughout the programme’s duration, in the meantime all affected buildings have appropriate safety mitigations in place.  

We are pleased to announce our two free community days in August!

Please RVSP using the QR code on the poster and we look forward to seeing you there. if you are viewing this on your mobile, you can RSVP by visiting www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/RSVPwandle.

Last Thursday, we held our first pub quiz of 2023, raising money for our chosen charity Pecan. This was a great chance for Wandle staff to socialise outside of work, whilst also supporting a great cause. The quiz raised £150 for Pecan’s Southwark foodbank, which will help many families in need.

Pecan exists to ensure that no one in Southwark goes hungry. Their vision is for a UK without the need for foodbanks.

For people in sudden crisis – redundancy, benefit delay, illness, or even an unexpected bill – can mean going hungry. Every day parents skip meals to feed their children and people are forced to choose between paying the rent, or heating bills, and eating. Every year they give food parcels to thousands of people in the local area.

By taking part you could be in with the chance of winning a £50 Amazon gift voucher.

Don’t worry if you don’t have any outdoor space, caring for indoor plants is just as fun and rewarding and really brightens up a home.

There are many benefits to gardening and caring for plants, including:

• It’s a mindful activity, which is great for improving your mental and emotional resilience.
• You are taking care of the environment around you.
• It’s a great form of exercise.

This year’s categories are:

Best indoor garden

Do you know your Cheese plant from your Rubber plant? If so, then we want to see how you have brought the outdoors in.

Best outdoor garden

Are you team landscaped or team wildflower? Either way, this category is for those who have created a botanical haven to enjoy during the warmer months.

Best edible garden

If you enjoy nothing more than eating your homegrown veg garnished with your own herbs, then this is the category for you.

Best junior gardener

Do your little ones (and teenagers) enjoy helping you in garden? Do they have a patch of garden they take pride in? Their own herb box? We would love to see what they have been up to.

Community garden

Do you care for an allotment space with your neighbours? Run a voluntary gardening project with people in your community? Brightened up a communal outdoor space for people to enjoy? Let us know!

We are looking for entries that are sustainable and wildlife friendly. Entries are now open and the deadline for applications is Sunday 27 August. You can apply by clicking here.

Here are some of last years winners!

We have noticed an increase in complaints about people taking drugs in the communal areas of our blocks.

This is a criminal offence and if you witness this kind of activity, it should be reported to the Police immediately. You must also let them know if you are concerned for your safety.

Once you have reported it to the Police, please contact us with the incident report number. Please let us know if there is any drug paraphernalia and we will dispose of it safely and securely – do not do this yourself.

There are a few ways we can support you in stopping people who are committing these offences entering your building.

• Always make sure the front door is closed behind you. It sounds obvious but taking a few moments to double check will stop opportunists entering your building. Also, be mindful of anyone following you into the building. This is known as tailgating when someone closely follows you into a space they are not authorised to enter.
• Don’t open the door to anyone you don’t know. If someone buzzes your entry phone and tell you they have a delivery for another property, don’t let them in. If someone says they are from Wandle, you have the right to ask to see identification.
• If you notice that there isn’t a no smoking sign in your block, please contact us with ‘no smoking sign and your address’ in the subject line and we will resolve this.

We appreciate that you won’t know everyone who lives in your block, and visitors will be coming and going. However, these small steps will go a long way in reducing illegal activity which will make your homes feel more safe and secure.

We have launched our real-time appointments system MCM:Live to make managing your repairs easier than ever.

You told us you wanted us to invest more in our services, and MCM:Live plays a key role in delivering an improved repairs service, and communicating clearly and consistently with you.

With MCM:Live you can now view real time appointment availability and interact with your operative if either you or they are running late.

You can also access the Live:Map which shows when your operative is on route to your repair appointment and their ETA. In addition, you can trust we are who we say we are, as you will be able to view their name and ID badge before they arrive.

If you are not in and our operative cannot gain access to your home, you will be able to view your appointment card confirming they attempted to complete the job.

Wandle colleagues recently celebrated the handover of 33 new homes at Whaling House, Canada Water, Southwark.

The scheme, purchased from Scape’s Canada Water, comprises of 10 shared ownership properties and 23 homes for social rent. There is also a landscaped communal rooftop garden, with views of London for residents to use.

Colleagues from across the business joined residents to view the high-spec homes. There was also a ribbon cutting with Wandle resident Jhonny Laimes, Chief Executive Anne Waterhouse, and Tracey Lees who has recently retired from the position.

Anne Waterhouse, Chief Executive at Wandle said: “At Wandle, we support people across South London who need a home and are ambitious in building new homes and successful communities.

“Everyone deserves to have a home they are proud to call their own, and I am delighted that we have been able to help our new residents achieve this.”

Whaling House resident Jhonny Laimes recently moved into a specially adapted home with his family after living in temporary accommodation that did not meet his needs.

He had previously lived in an overcrowded temporary one-bedroom property with his wife and three children. Living in an overcrowded home had caused a physical and mental impact on the family, with the lack of personal space and privacy taking a toll.

Jhonny said of his new home, “Previously I lived in temporary housing not adapted to my disability, and my son had to sleep on the floor. I couldn’t get out to the street without help due to the difficulty of the stairs and my life was difficult.

“Wandle have given me the opportunity to live in a house adapted for my needs. I am very grateful for this opportunity because it has given me another opportunity to live.”

We provide homes that are places of comfort, safety, and security, with enough space for families to thrive.