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Tenants need a say in managing their homes
• In his letter last week, Mick Sweeney, Chief Executive
of the Community Housing Group (CHG), alleges that the legal
action taken by Shortlife Community Housing (SCH) against CHG
was pushed through by two management committee members acting
in isolation and for their own political purposes.
Unfortunately for CHG tenants, this has no basis in truth. There
was widespread frustration with CHG on the part of residents
who, from 1994, paid a weekly levy to CHA on the understanding
that this money would be paid over to their residents’
associations to give them some real control over their environment
and the future of their communities.
Initially, CHG did pay the funds to the residents’ associations,
but these payments were erratic and eventually ceased. Mr Mason
and Mr Yates were not even officers of SCH when it was decided
by the membership to go to court over the £47,000 outstanding.
This decision was only taken after all other avenues (negotiation
and arbitration) proved fruitless. Both the membership and the
five residents’ associations that make up SCH were consulted
at every stage and voted in favour of legal action numerous
times over the last seven years.
Mr Sweeney’s letter is riddled with other inaccuracies.
There were 20 named parties who actually brought the case –
not those named by Mr Sweeney. And he has no idea what SCH has
paid out – he seems to be inventing figures for his own
purposes.
Ultimately SCH was advised that it would be too expensive and
risky to proceed to trial, and so pulled out of the case. We
certainly agree that there has been a terrible waste of tenants’
money. Mr. Sweeney suggests that SCH should be investigated
by the Charity Commission. However, his personal attacks and
divide-and-rule tactics will not restore tenants’ confidence
or foster real tenant empowerment. It remains that CHG has a
case to answer.
Adrian Crimmin
Chair, North Houses Residents’ Association
Dan Dean
Secretary, North Houses Residents’ Association
John Northeast Hillview Residents’ Association
Chris Reeves
Hillview Residents’ Association
Geoff Robinson Hillview Residents’ Association
Cath Cinnamon
South Houses Residents’ Association
for and on behalf of SCH management committee and members
• It has come to note that visitors are expected to
sign in at the concierge when visiting the tower block of Bacton.
Of course, no consultation with the tenants took place on this.
Why? Surely it would have been pertinent to inform tenants that
this was being progressed. While this signing-in book has advantages
with regards to undesirables entering, it could also be construed
as monitoring who visits who.
On a personal note, having been accused by the council tax office
of having a third party living at this address it can be construed
that this is an underhand method of checking to see if other
people live here. Are we turning into a state where everyone’s
movement is checked? As a leaseholder, it is none of the councils
business who visits my home.
Carl Sanders
Haverstock Road, NW5
• Skip Murphy’s letter (January 26) about the scandal
of so many vacant buildings highlights the anomalous situation
well.
It is nonsensical to reward people who neglect or hold properties
out of use by reducing or waiving their rates bill and yet charge
more taxes to people who keep their properties well and improve
them.
A levy on the value of a site without its improvements is the
only fair way of dealing with the situation. It also sorts out
the thorny question of windfall gains from better (government
financed) infrastructure and improving economic conditions.
A charge such as this would allow taxes on production, ie on
labour and businesses, to be correspondingly reduced and it
would also be practical to collect and incapable of evasion.
Why haven’t we got it? Ask the Liberal Democrats who abandoned
this idea for a local income tax on the working members of the
community rather than penalise people for withholding property
out of use.
AI Cormack
Kentish Town Road
• Are you coming to the Lobby of Parliament and rally
on February 8 in support of the Fourth Option? It’s not
too late to make arrangements – if you need help with transport
let us know.
Delegations from 82 local authority areas have notified us that
they are attending (full details on Defend Council Housing website).
Let us know who is coming from your area – it makes the
organisation much easier!
Help step up the pressure to win a secure future for council
housing – make sure every area with council housing (including
Arms-length management organisations) is represented.
The rally starts at noon and will finish by 4pm (Methodist Central
Hall Westminster). There’s a rolling platform of tenants,
MPs, councillors and trade unionists, workshops and a chance
to meet delegations from other areas.
• Contact your MP, ask him/her to join you at the rally
and to meet a delegation (ideally after 4pm).
• Bring tenant and union banners/placards to decorate the
hall.
DCH is also organising a fringe meeting on Saturday February
11 (lunchtime) at the Labour Party spring conference in Blackpool.
If you are attending the conference or can get to Blackpool
please come along. Speakers include MPs Austin Mitchell and
Brian Iddon, Jack Dromey (T&G), Heather Wakefield (Unison),
John Allott (Amicus) and Alan Walter (DCH) noon-2pm, Lounge
Bar, Orbiston Hotel, 78 Adelaide St - behind Winter Gardens
Centre.
ALAN Walter
Peckwater Estate
NW5
• The comments in the Camden Federation of Tenants and
Residents Associations advert on page 12 (Jan 26) are based
on fallacy.
It is stated: “If the Fed doesn’t agree, the council
will withdraw funding from April 2006.” This is not true.
There is clear evidence to show that the Fed has been in breach
of the service-level agreement (SLA) in place with the council;
therefore proposals that include more stringent monitoring of
the SLA were put forward to the Fed.
(After all, the Fed receives approximately £320,000 directly
from the housing revenue account to supply services to the council
and has signed up to the compact – of which the SLA is
a part of).
There has to be justification to such large funding, and the
council also has to address best value for the funding.
There has been no consultation or survey, since the Ford report
in 1999, as to the need for the Fed (and directly funding it
from our rents).
At the recently held Camden Fed AGM, Councillor Julian Fulbrook
clearly addressed these matters.
There has, to date, been no response from the Fed to the proposals,
instead we get misleading adverts in newspapers (paid for by
us – the tenants).
Why doesn’t the Fed come out in the open and face up to
the facts, and stop playing political games with us all?
And all this from an organisation which is meant to exercise
our rights. The Fed should go back to its roots and begin again.
N masters
Member Camden Compact Monitoring Board
Campden House
Harben Road, NW6 |
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