Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council

Council approved the appointment of Anna Popovici as Chief Executive designate, replacing Andrew Travers at the end of the month. This is an executive staffing decision with organisational implications for procurement governance and programme oversight.

The quarter four outturn reported a revenue overspend of £884,000 against a budget of just under £38 million. This is an important financial pressure on resident services and place-related functions, with implications for future procurement controls and value-for-money scrutiny.

A formal review was brought against the Scrummery premises licence because of alleged public nuisance, public safety concerns and child protection issues linked to rugby-day trading. The committee was considering whether to modify conditions, remove the DPS, suspend or revoke the licence, while also hearing that a minor variation application was separately pending.

The council proposed a small-scale play provision at Little Green with an indicative budget of £150,000. Speakers raised strong heritage, planning, and antisocial-behaviour concerns, and members requested more consultation, value-for-money analysis, and consents before progressing.

The committee agreed to delegate authority to officers to award the borough’s e-bike service to Forest as a sole provider, moving the arrangement onto a contractual basis. Members discussed the merits of one versus two operators, but the recommendation was supported on the basis of quality, end-user pricing and the concession contribution to the council. The contract basis also gives the council stronger leverage on parking standards, complaints handling and service performance than the current MOU-style arrangement.

The Council reported major affordable housing delivery at Ham Close through Richmond Housing Partnership. The scheme is using £5 million of Richmond housing grant and will deliver 221 genuinely affordable homes in phases, including replacement social rent homes. This is a substantial housing investment with clear procurement and delivery implications.

The committee considered and unanimously approved a new private rented sector offer policy for homelessness cases, designed to move households out of temporary accommodation sooner and reduce spiralling costs. Officers explained the legal basis, suitability safeguards, review rights, and expected savings, while members probed implementation, equality impacts, landlord checks, monitoring, and the likelihood of out-of-borough placements. The committee also noted wider homelessness transformation work and the forthcoming allocations policy.

The board reviewed the Council’s communications function, including its Westco contract, social media strategy, newsletter reach, Film Richmond, and targeted campaigns such as Smarter Homes. Members also discussed a wider review of communications across the council, including website and letters, and raised concerns about reach to less digitally engaged residents and the use of X. A second major item covered the council’s performance management framework, with planned KPI reductions, indicator refreshes, and several service-specific issues including tree planting, customer contact, cycle parking, adult social care, affordable housing, and domestic/sexual violence metrics.