Spruced up garages at Arden House

Residents of Arden House have worked alongside Lambeth Living's garages team to transform their garages by installing green roofs and new doors. The plants have only just started growing, but when complete, the roof will be carpeted with wild flowers and greenery. The roof has also saved Lambeth Living £6000! The garages team will be interested to hear from other TRAs who might be interested in this idea.

Lambeth Living have also replaced the deteriorating metal doors with smart new painted wooden doors (above).

Since the Central Garage Team was set up four years ago they have also reduced voids from around 60% to 5%, increasing the income from the garages from around £250,000 per year to well over a million. As the repairs are almost all done in-house they have been able to have extremely quick turn around times and saved money on day to day repairs and planned maintenance. Rent arrears have also been reduced from over £130,000 to £30,000.

Whilst the general picture for Lambeth Living's garages is looking really positive, local councillors have pointed out that serious problems remain at the garages underneath the Ethelred Towers. Cllr Mark Harrison has asked the team to give its full focus to getting the issues there resolved as soon as possible, and offered any assistance that councillors can provide.

Roots & Shoots Open Day

Roots & Shoots will be opening its garden this Sunday (13 June) as part of London Open Garden Squares Weekend.

It will be a fantastic chance to explore North Lambeth's richest and most diverse wildlife garden, as well as to enjoy exhibitions on biodiversity and green roofs, and have a chance to buy organic produce and plants.

Entry to Roots & Shoots alone will be £3 (with free tea and cake), and the garden will be open from 10am to 5pm. You can also buy a £7.50 ticket giving you access to all the private garden squares open over the weekend across the capital.

Minister visits Ethelred's 'green roof'

Environment Minister Hilary Benn visited a pioneering eco-friendly housing estate in Lambeth on Monday to hear first hand how local people are working with us to tackle climate change.

In the week that world leaders meet in Copenhagen to hammer out a deal on climate change, the minister was keen to stress that the efforts of local communities like those in Lambeth are just as important in helping to reduce CO2.

The minister visited the Ethelred Estate in Kennington to see one of the estate’s green roofs, which are surfaced with sedum plants. The green roof is covered in a type of sedum grass instead of traditional flat roof surfacing and attracts wildlife such as birds and insects. It also improves air quality and absorbs rain water, so has a role to play in reducing urban flooding.

The Ethelred Estate is the UK's largest green roof project and covers 10 buildings, with more than 4,000 square metres of roof space covered in sedum plants.

Lambeth secured special government funding for the project, which cost £716,000, and have completed further green roofs in nearby Stockwell and a 'biodiverse brown roof' in Clapham.
The Ethelred roof project was a partnership between Lambeth Council and the Ethelred Tenant Management Organisation (TMO). Mr Benn met David Girdler, the Chair of the TMO, Councillor Lib Peck, Cabinet Member for and Housing and Regeneration on Lambeth Council, as well as our Environment Manager Jon Lissimore, local ward councillors and residents.

Mr Benn was also made an honorary Lambeth 'Green Community Champion'. Lambeth's Green Community Champions scheme is seeing hundreds of volunteers across the borough trained by the Council in sustainability issues, so they can help and inspire their neighbourhoods to be more environmentally sustainable.

For details on how to become a green community champion and for useful tips on going green go to our green champion page or email greenchampion@lambeth.gov.uk.

Photo and story from Lambeth Council's website.