The Housing and Inclusive Economy Scrutiny Committee met on 8 April 2026 to discuss the proposed acquisition of new build homes at Fellowship Square and to review the committee's scrutiny report. The committee did not make any formal recommendations regarding the acquisition but discussed concerns about build quality and anti-social behaviour.

Acquisition of New Build Homes at Fellowship Square (FSQ) - Blocks H&J

The committee considered a report on the proposed acquisition of up to 81 new build homes at Hepworth Place, within the Fellowship Square (FSQ) neighbourhood. Councillor Ahsan Khan, Deputy Leader for Housing and Regeneration, along with officers Priya Ravindran and Daniel Reynolds, presented the opportunity to increase the number of council homes. The acquisition would be funded through a combination of Right to Buy (RTB) receipts, council borrowing, and a grant from the Greater London Authority (GLA).

A key aspect of the proposal was a review of the original unit mix, which identified an oversupply of one-bedroom units. This would be reduced to increase the number of two and three-bedroom homes, resulting in a net reduction in the total number of units but a strategic conversion of private homes to social rent.

Members of the committee welcomed the increase in social rent properties but raised concerns about potential overpricing by developers and sought assurance that the viability of the acquisition had been rigorously assessed. Officers confirmed that this had been undertaken and that one of the ground-floor commercial units would be gifted to the Council. They highlighted the Council's track record in optimising schemes to increase affordable housing percentages and noted that the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) capacity was preserved for estate regeneration. The officers also emphasised the risk of other London boroughs acquiring local stock if Waltham Forest did not act swiftly, and that current GLA funding offered flexibility to reduce reliance on borrowing.

Concerns were also raised regarding build quality and ongoing property management issues in some existing Council-owned properties. Officers clarified that these issues were exceptions and not linked to any specific delivery method, stating that the Council had focused on improving tenant induction, defect management, and collaboration between housing management and capital delivery teams. Regarding anti-social behaviour (ASB), officers confirmed that incidents had primarily originated from external users, such as students from a neighbouring college, rather than residents. Close collaboration with the Council's Facilities Management team, Waltham Forest College, and ward councillors had reportedly reduced the number of incidents.

The committee did not make any formal recommendations regarding this report.

The Scrutiny Report

Consideration was also given to the scrutiny report, introduced by Democratic Services Officer Sibel Emirali. The report provided an overview of the committee's forward plan and action tracker. Ms. Emirali reminded committee members to contact officers with any suggestions for the forward plan. The committee reviewed the forward plan for the remainder of the municipal year and discussed potential items for the 2026-27 cycle.

The meeting concluded at 7:34 pm.