Wandsworth Council's recent meeting saw heated debates on crime and housing, but a motion highlighting these issues ultimately failed to pass.

Councillor Corner moved a motion noting that Wandsworth residents now have a Labour MP, a Labour Assembly Member, a Labour Mayor, and a Labour government, but that problems in Wandsworth are still present, if not worse. The motion claimed that there are worrying divergences in how crime and housing are being addressed.

Councillor Cooper responded that the motion was an attempt to find political differences between the council and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

Crime Concerns

During the meeting, concerns were raised about community safety and law enforcement. Councillor Richards-Jones, Leader of the Opposition, questioned the Leader of the Council, Councillor Simon Hogg, about a manifesto breach regarding law enforcement officers. Councillor Richards-Jones stated that the Labour manifesto at the 2022 election said, robust action on crime. We'll put more law enforcement officers on the streets, paid for by levies on property developers.

Councillor Hogg responded that the council had doubled the number of community safety officers, paid for by property developers. He stated, We've used developer contributions to pay for extra community safety officers, and we've doubled the number of those community safety officers to improve resident engagement and deepen knowledge of local tricky issues. The meeting information indicates that developer contributions are used to pay for extra community safety officers, but it does not provide specific details on the levies or the amount of revenue generated.

He also highlighted the success of CCTV in preventing crime, citing an instance where CCTV officers tracked and helped detain an individual with a firearm and another where they located a missing 12-year-old girl.

Councillor Lawless asked about community tensions, to which Councillor Hogg responded that Wandsworth has always been an open, diverse, and compassionate place, and that the council takes any threat to its peaceful and tolerant way of life very seriously. Councillor Hogg stated that the council has a centuries-long tradition of welcoming people fleeing persecution and that Wandsworth was recognised as a borough of sanctuary last year. He also mentioned the multi-faith forum and practical support through the borough of sanctuary fund, the access for all fund, and the cost of living fund.

Housing Debate

The council also discussed housing issues. Councillor Aydin Dikerdem, Cabinet Member for Housing, stated that the council was fighting to keep the threshold for social housing as high as possible.

Councillor Gashane argued that the council's building programme has lost sight of the importance of family-sized homes, prioritising small, transient units instead. He criticised the Alton Estate regeneration plan, stating that only seven percent of the new homes will be family homes.

Councillor Tiller defended the Alton Estate regeneration, noting that 82% of voters supported the plan in a recent ballot. He contrasted this with previous Conservative administrations, claiming they sought to cram in private housing and to achieve no significant increase in council housing nothing to replace what they have sold off and never sought a ballot because they knew they would never have won it. He contrasted this with Labour's Homes for Wandsworth program.

Motion Fails

Despite the concerns raised, a separate motion on the continued failure of Wandsworth Council to remove the indefinite disruptive protests in Nine Elms ultimately failed, with 17 votes for, 29 against, with no abstentions. Councillor McLeod argued against taking action against the protestors, stating, those gatherings and that peace camp weren't a problem, they were an expression of love grief and solidarity, they were democracy in its purest form.