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Tragedy of selling homes
• WE would like wholeheartedly to agree with your previous correspondents’ suggestions that the council and Camden residents should unite and ask the government to pay the money owed to council tenants for repairs and renovations, in order to stop the sale of council homes.
In fact, more than a year ago, a large meeting Holly Lodge estate residents asked Chris Naylor, Camden Council’s executive member for housing, to do just that.
We even offered to accompany him to Downing Street.
It is outrageous that the government tried to blackmail Camden residents by promising more than £200million for repairs if they voted the way the government wanted on a housing arms-length management organisation (Almo) and then to withhold the money because it did not get the result it wanted.
What sort of democracy is that? Furthermore, if the government stopped
top-slicing council tenants’ rents and gave this money back to our local council, we would have far more money for renovations.
In the meantime it is a tragedy that council homes are being sold when there is so much housing need in the borough.
In the case of Holly Lodge, if no other funding is secured, two thirds of the bedsit blocks will be sold to private buyers, that is around 60 flats.
These flats and bedsits have been a lifeline to so many people over the years and it would be a terrible shame if they were sold off when affordable housing is so badly needed in Camden.
The market prices of the flats on this beautiful estate, next to Hampstead Heath, would be well beyond the reach of most ordinary families in the borough. We urge the council, to join with residents groups, and ask the government to provide the money it owes us.
After all, Gordon Brown and the Labour Party say they care about social housing.
Let’s see if they will put their money where there mouths are.
Virginia Cleugh
Elizabeth Doherty, chair
Nick Durant
Grace Livingstone, secretary
Holly Lodge Residents Association, N6
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