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 Protesters outside the Town Hall on Tuesday
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U-turn as Town Hall plans to sell estates
ANGRY tenants heckle Lib Dems over housing scheme
HOUSING chiefs sprung a surprise on tenants on Tuesday night by unveiling controversial plans to sell off council properties on the private market.
In a significant change in Town Hall policy, Camden also said it was ready to work with outside companies on so-called ‘estate regeneration’ projects.
Under those schemes, housing associations are likely to gain a stake in land previously owned by the council in return for funding vital refurbishment work.
Estates in worst repair could face demolition with some of the borough’s best-known estates disappearing from Camden’s skyline.
The new draft policies are a clear departure from the previous position of demanding direct investment from the government to pay for a mounting backlog of repairs.
Tenants’ leaders were invited to the main council chamber to discuss funding possibilities but were instead drawn into a 45-minute presentation on an overhead projector.
A slide with the question: ‘Is this the solution?’ met with a loud chorus of ‘No’.
Many tenants reacted angrily to the proposals, joining the heckling of Liberal Democrat housing chief Councillor Chris Naylor and Catherine Illingworth, the council’s top housing strategist.
The plans, which will see around 50 commercial properties and empty flats sold in an initial pilot scheme aimed at raising £11 million, were billed as a possible solution to Camden’s ongoing council repairs crisis.
The root of the Town Hall’s dilemma is the government’s refusal to fund repairs on the basis that tenants will not agree to any form of stock transfer – a key plank of Whitehall policy.
Ms Illingworth said: “We have had a shortfall for a long time. This is about finding a solution. It’s a small amount of pain for bigger gain. There are benefits for all tenants, not just the ones sat around here.”
But many tenants fear Camden is now giving up on its three-year lobby of ministers despite evidence that a growing number of MPs are bent on changing government policy and mounting pressure on the cabinet. The change in direction also comes at a time when Cllr Naylor has secured a meeting with housing minister Yvette Cooper on May 16.
In an impromptu motion, residents called for the council to forget about the new suggestions and to concentrate on lobbying ministers for direct investment.
Alan Walter, a tenants leader from Kentish Town who is also an organiser of the pressure group Defend Council Housing, said: “We need every council home possible. We are opposed to any loss of public land.”
Lorraine Revah, chairwoman of the Gospel Oak District Management Committee, said: “We don’t want to agree to any of these options at the minute.
“Nowhere is it written about security of tenure and to me and to everyone sat here, you have to have security of tenure no matter what options you take.”
Green councillor Maya De Souza said that by publicly considering other options, Camden’s “bargaining stance” with the government could be jeopardised.
Cllr Naylor, nicknamed ‘The Laptop’ by some residents because he is rarely seen at meetings without his portable computer, is the latest in a line of housing chiefs to find himself at the centre of the crisis.
He told the meeting that it was time to sort the repairs backlog out once and for all. “We don’t want the housing to fall down while we are waiting for the government to provide investment,” he said. “We are talking about significant amounts of money and a difference to a lot of people’s lives and the homes they live in. It is a matter of record that we have gone from a three star rating to a two star.”
Cllr Naylor said that the council would still lobby for investment but had to consider other options. |
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