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Camden New Journal - by RICHARD OSLEY
Published: 26 July 2007

Cllr Chris Naylor: "Holly Lodge is a special place"

Tenants fear private buy out

Cash-strapped council estates may be lost to outside investment

TENANTS living on one of Camden’s most desirable council estates fear private developers will be invited to take control of the properties, turning their Highgate blocks into expensive homes only within reach of high-earners.
Holly Lodge in Highgate is on a list of four estates being sized up by councillors for so-called ‘estate regeneration’ packages, effectively a council plan to strike deals with housing associations to pay for refurbishment work.
The Town Hall is turning to outside help because direct investment from the government is currently on hold due to an ongoing row over funding.
Residents gave a clear warning sign on Tuesday night that they would not tolerate seeing part of their estate hived off to the private sector. They told Camden’s Liberal Democrat and Conservative coalition at a cabinet meeting to lobby Prime Minister Gordon Brown for direct funding instead.
Holly Lodge is meant to be a jewel in Camden’s housing portfolio due to its leafy location on the slopes that run down from Highgate village and easy access to Hampstead Heath.
But many of the flats are run-down and some residents are still sharing toilets, bumping into neighbours in the rush for the bathroom facilities.
Meanwhile, many flats are empty on the grounds that it would be too costly to renovate them, despite Camden’s chronic housing crisis and a huge waiting list for council homes.
A complete repair bill would cost around £15 million.
Camden said it can foot that bill by brokering a deal with a housing association – almost certainly on the basis that an outside investor would claim part of the land. Tenants disagree, arguing that it should be paid for with traditional investment.
Grace Livingstone, joint secretary of the Holly Lodge Residents Association said: “It would be a crime to sell off four blocks of council housing when there is such great housing need in Camden.
“Property developers would turn the blocks into luxury flats that locals can’t afford.”
She added: “We have become increasingly disillusioned with the council. They said there were various options for Holly Lodge but it is becoming clear that they have really only one option in mind: selling the blocks.”
The row sums up the overall debate over the future of Camden’s homes with tenants willing to wait for the deadlock with government to break coming up against councillors flirting with the private market.
The other estates in the direct firing line are Maiden Lane in Camden Town, often celebrated for its architecture, Rowley Way in West Hampstead and Chester Road in Highgate.
Council chiefs said the four sites had been bumped to the top of the priority list because they are considered the toughest challenges – but objectors suspect they are in the frame because there are pockets of land or open space on the estates that would attract interest.
Campaigners were hoping that there would be an encouraging sign from government in a housing Green Paper released on Monday.
For all the talk of social housing and plans to build cheap homes on brownfield sites, however, there was little mention of directly funding repairs to council homes.
Alan Walter, from pressure group Defend Council Housing, said: “The fact is that direct investment in decent, affordable, secure and accountable council housing is the cheapest and quickest way to address housing need today.
“The private sector alternatives cost more - eating up a higher than ever level of households income, are less secure and are totally unaccountable.
“That’s why so many people value a council tenancy over the alternatives.”
Liberal Democrat housing chief Councillor Chris Naylor said on Tuesday: “Holly Lodge is a special place. We want it to remain as council housing or social housing in the future. Residents are however aware of the financial constraints that we are under.”

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