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We need something concrete on housing
• "PRIME -minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown has an ‘open mind’ about the fourth option for council housing, as an alternative to transfer, arms-length management and the private finance initiative, his spokesperson said this week.” (Inside Housing, June 8).
Gordon Brown acknowledged in his speech to Labour’s Special Conference on June 24 that housing is now top of the political agenda, and agreed to a demand from campaigners and unions to create a cabinet-level minister for housing.
As The Guardian reported: “Brown promised both to expand council and other rented accommodation…[saying] “Housing will be a priority. We need to build homes not just to own but to rent. We can make affordable housing for all one of the great causes of our time’.”
We’ve done what many said was impossible and forced council housing to the top of the political agenda. It’s utter nonsense for our councillors to claim that government policy isn’t about to change.
All we have to do now is turn soundbites into concrete proposals that enable councils like Camden to improve all our homes and estates, and maintain those improvements for years to come, as well as providing a new generation of first-class council housing.
Camden council could be part of this process. By reversing their decision to pursue a strategy of selling off homes, they would send a clear message to government that a real solution needs to be found, and quickly. It could be the last straw which turns the tide. But when we requested a deputation to the last full council meeting to ask them to do this, in an outrageous insult to democracy, we were turned down.
If, as seems likely, our campaign succeeds in changing government policy on this important issue, even without the council’s help, then councillors will still be wiping egg off their faces at the next local election. It’s not too late to stop this expensive, destructive, strategy and we urge the council to think again.
Help put pressure on the government and hear the latest from those negotiating with ministers on the ‘fourth option’. Come to the Defend Council Housing conference at the TUC, Great Russell Street, on the July 12 (starts 11am). See www.defendcouncil
housing.org.uk for details.
LASLEY CART
Secretary, Camden Defend Council Housing
• THERE has long been a connection between British anti-social behaviour and the way social housing is managed. It was inevitable that Camden Borough would be the Asbo capital of southern England and, while Labour politicians described this as evidence of good law enforcement, they failed to realise that it was their short-sighted policies since 1999 that were damaging the social fabric.
There are signs that the former flagship Labour council is being restored after many years of neglectful administrations. High local taxes and abysmal judgment in its spending is what you get from Labour councils.
They even allowed a once-proud housing department to become dysfunctional without making any efforts to change the sloppy management culture. Heads of council departments should be held accountable for long-term systematic failure, otherwise the rot sets in.
JJ Redmond
7 Mornington Court, NW1
• RESIDENTS of Levita House received letters saying that if they have washing lines up, that they must be taken down, as now, suddenly, after a good 20 or so years, they are suddenly “unsightly and are a health and safety risk”.
The council should have a policy on sustainable energy. How is this compatible with a need to reduce carbon emissions? Drying clothes naturally out of doors uses no energy. Drying them indoors in a tumble dryer or on a radiator uses unnecessary energy. Surely the council should be encouraging people to reduce their energy consumption, not to increase it.
How is it possible for anyone to be injured by wet socks on a highly placed washing line?
Drying clothes indoors increases humidity in the house, causing damp and encouraging mould. Surely this is a more serious health and safety issue than the “danger” of someone colliding with a sock.
I would like to add that although the newly refurbished part of Levita House, may be energy efficient, there are plenty parts of the flats that are not.
NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED
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