Mayor Damien Egan announced last night (27.09.2023) at Full Council that Cllr Will Cooper would be joining the Cabinet taking up the role as the Cabinet Member for Housing Management and Homelessness. Cllr Cooper is taking over from Cllr Sophie Davis who  has decided to step down from the cabinet following her new job as the Director of Research at Crest Advisory. Cllr Davis joined the cabinet in May 2022 and has played an important role in overseeing the insourcing of Lewisham Homes, the largest insourcing project in a generation. Mayor Egan thanked Cllr Davis for her hard work and the commitment she showed to Lewisham residents in this role.

Mayor Egan also announced that Cllr André Bourne has also decided to step down from the cabinet in his role as the Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Communications (part-time) due to work and family commitments. Cllr Bourne first joined the cabinet in April 2019 and guided Lewisham to successfully bid for the London Borough of Culture Award. Cllr Bourne also oversaw the renovation of Wavelengths leisure centre and Lewisham’s award winning parks. Mayor Egan thanked Cllr Bourne for his more than four years of work in the cabinet that has made a real impact right across the borough. The Mayor announced that Cllr James-J Walsh would step up to a full-time as the Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Communications. In addition, some further changes to cabinet responsibilities included Cllr Juliet Campbell  taking on the Community Safety brief, whilst Cllr Paul Bell would be taking on the public health brief.

Cllr Will Cooper said,

“I am really pleased to be taking on the housing management and homelessness brief at such a critical time for housing in our borough and across London. As we bring Lewisham Homes back into direct council control, it has never been more important to work with residents to ensure our housing services are fit for purpose. There are huge challenges ahead but, I am determined to work across our services to ensure that everyone has a safe decent and secure home.”

Mayor Damien Egan said,

“I’d like to thank André and Sophie for all their hard work. They have both made huge contributions to our borough and we will miss their voices in cabinet.  However, I know they will continue to be excellent advocates for their residents. I’m delighted that Will has agreed to join the cabinet. He has a deep understanding of the social housing sector and will be a powerful champion for our residents.”