Thames Reach has been commended in the London Homelessness Awards 2024 for its innovative partnership with Cromwood Housing. We asked Bill Tidnam, Thames Reach chief executive (pictured above, right), and Kevin Murphy, strategic director at Cromwood Housing, how the partnership came about.
Bill Tidnam: In early May 2020, I went to a London Councils’ meeting where there was a lot of discussion about the high number of people experiencing homelessness in hotels. This had happened due to the Everyone In programme responding to the pandemic. A lot of us had been worried for a while about this; large number of people in hotels in limbo with no long-term plan. I spoke to a few people including Glenn Arradon from Big Issue Invest, and they suggested I talk to Moses Hirschler, the chief executive at Cromwood.
Kevin Murphy: We were all looking for a better solution than people staying in hotels. We needed to find more suitable and sustainable accommodation for people, and it felt like we were in a position at Cromwood to progress this. A supply of properties was needed straight away. There was not enough time to go down the purchase route – so we leased 100 properties for three years, paying all the landlords up front with money from the GLA.
BT: A lot of housing associations understood the problem and wanted to help, but many of them wanted 50% referral rights for their existing tenants, which is fair enough in usual circumstances but would just not have worked in the situation we were in. We spoke to DLUHC and the GLA, who recognised that there was an urgent need for a route out for people in hotels. Many of the clients we were supporting had low support needs so it felt that we could help them to move on with their lives if we had the properties.
KM: This was a new approach. As a small, registered provider, we are flexible and so able to respond quickly. We can make quick decisions; we found the properties and secured them for the project.
BT: More traditional housing associations had a standard model which didn’t work for us. Cromwood had the appetite and determination, and they recognised the urgency of the situation. They also had the contacts and the access to financial institutions and pension funds. For our part, Thames Reach felt able to mobilise the support needed to help maintain people in the properties.
KM: Once the initial leasing phase was concluded we started talking again with Thames Reach and the GLA. We all knew this was a good immediate step, but it was not sustainable. Landlords would often want properties back and of course we were not in charge of repairs and quality. The only long-term solution was to purchase properties. We proposed a new model of 50% funding from the GLA supported by 50% from private investors. We knew that this was a challenge for some investors; while they wanted to fulfil a socially responsible role as well as get a reasonable return, many were nervous about the client group. For some, like Rothschild, this was the first time they had ventured into social housing.
BT: The partnership worked, but without a new approach including private investment it wouldn’t have happened. And only Cromwood could deliver that.
KM: We could take a risk on clients. Even if some had a troubling past, we were happy to give them a chance. With Thames Reach’s support and Cromwood’s intensive housing management function, with regular visits and support, we were confident that we could help people.
BT: So far, in partnership with Cromwood we have housed 700 people in 500 properties. They are all on affordable rents, but in higher quality properties than is usual for the private sector. These were not houses in multiple occupation, but proper one bed flats.
KM: We see this as something that can be replicated and moved elsewhere. The next phase could see a broader funding model, with perhaps 40% from the GLA and greater investment from local authorities. We will still need some private investment but with local authority funding as well, we can expand the scheme and ensure greater ownership and additional support.
For more about Thames Reach go to Thames Reach | Ending street homelessness – Thames Reach. The London Homelessness Awards will be celebrated on December 4th, 2024.