Scovell Estate repairs near completion after weeks without heating in Borough
Southwark Council expects the last 42 homes to be reconnected by the end of 14 October and will set out compensation once the work is complete.
Richmond weighs electric outdoor saunas as a way to raise cash
The council prefers electric saunas to wood-fired ones and is hunting for extra income, with a new funding formula set to strip £29 million a year from its core grant by 2029.
Key facts
- Richmond Council is researching how outdoor saunas could operate in the borough
- It prefers saunas powered by electricity to traditional wood-burning ones
- Suppliers have until 22 October to respond to the council's notice
- A new funding formula would remove £29 million a year from its core grant by 2029, 58 per cent of its central money
Richmond Council is asking companies how outdoor saunas could work in the borough. It wants new ways to bring in money while its budget is under heavy pressure.
A notice to suppliers asks them to explain how the sector operates. The authority can then judge whether any opportunity would be “commercially and operationally viable”. Suppliers have until 22 October to take part.
Electric outdoor saunas in Richmond parks and leisure
The council says it favours lower-impact options, such as saunas powered by electricity instead of the traditional wood-burning kind. It said more people are taking up outdoor wellness and leisure activities, and it believes these can benefit residents’ health and wellbeing. Any income could also help keep parks and leisure services going over the long term, it added.
“At this early stage, we want to understand the level of interest in outdoor saunas and how they could operate,” the council said. What it learns, along with feedback from stakeholders, will help shape any proposals if it decides to go ahead. Those plans would still have to meet legal and planning rules. The council would also have to weigh the effect on individual sites and on the environment. Whether a scheme pays its way, and how much local people gain from it, would count too.
Richmond Council funding cuts
Saunas also appear in a report on a wider transformation programme, which aims to overhaul council departments and save £39m a year by 2029. Alongside those savings, the report lists outdoor saunas as one possible source of extra money for the authority.
The pressure comes from a new government funding formula. By 2029 it would take £29 million a year out of Richmond’s core grant, a loss the council puts at 58 per cent of the central money it receives. It is challenging the cuts together with Wandsworth, Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea councils.
Key questions
Is Richmond getting outdoor saunas?
Not yet. The council is gauging interest and asking suppliers how outdoor saunas could work before deciding whether to bring forward any proposals.
What is the deadline for suppliers?
Suppliers have until 22 October to respond to the council's notice.
Why is Richmond Council looking at saunas?
It wants new income. Under a new government funding formula, the council expects to lose £29 million a year from its core grant by 2029.
Gipsy Hill tenant and her nephew in hospital after council house ceiling gives way again
Venesha Rose says repairs to her Lambeth Council home failed to fix the cause, and she has been raising leaks with the council since 2024.
Ombudsman again criticises HMP Wandsworth over emergency codes after 2021 death
No control room record shows when a code blue was called after Aktar Uddin was found unresponsive in his cell on Christmas Day 2021.
Hammersmith and Fulham weighs council tax rises of up to 150% to fill £160m gap
Under the largest option, a Band D bill would reach £2,522.50 a year before the GLA precept. The council leader says protecting services comes first.