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The mock auction protest that was held outside Aspern Grove on Friday |
Official: Every estate on warpath over home sales
New Journal survey challenges claims that tenants support sell offs
COUNCIL tenants have lost faith in the Town Hall after another batch of properties was sold off at auction, lost for ever to private developers.
Liberal Democrat housing chief Chris Naylor claimed his party had the “positive support” of residents in their attempts to raise money by selling off a share of Camden’s council homes.
He told us all: “The majority supported our proposal.”
However, a New Journal survey of tenants associations across the borough, which features on pages 8 and 9, this week revealed his boast might have amounted to just a bit of spin.
The results of our extensive ring-around show their mandate for the sell-offs is barely intact, wafer thin if it exists at all.
All asked simply whether they supported the current policy of sell offs, nobody said they agreed with the council. The opposite – many said they hated the idea.
It is another clear warning to senior councillors that they have ignored the will of tenants with one of the most unpopular policies in recent memory.
Five more homes were sold off to private bidders on Monday and there is another auction scheduled for later this month.
Only two months ago, Lib Dem housing chief Councillor Chris Naylor, who gave his blessing to this week’s sales, said a consultation programme had shown “positive support from tenants” for the way Camden was generating money and using it to renovate homes.
But tenants said they hardly had a chance to respond to it and the numbers that did were so small that they did not justify pressing ahead with selling off homes that could otherwise be refurbished and offered to people on the long waiting list.
Despite the sensitivity of the issue, there was no borough-wide vote or debate at full council before the sell-offs began and now the decision has been exposed today (Thursday) as deeply unpopular.
Even people who have been following the long-running saga of funding for council housing in Camden will be surprised at the strength of feeling we found at the other end of the phone.
As a pragmatic policy to bring money into a housing department starved of cash by the government, there is still hardly any support on the estates.
And to make matters worse, many tenants said they fear the money that has been collected from the dozens of homes already sold has been wasted.
Worryingly for the Lib Dems and Conservatives running the Town Hall, who will face the public vote at local elections next May, the dissent is not just from familiar opponents.
From the southern tip of the borough, to the north-west, residents whose views they are supposed to be representing say they feel let down.
Tenant after tenant told our reporters of their searing anger towards the council’s policy, using words such as “disgrace”, “appalling” and “the worst thing they have ever done.”
They are acutely aware of the need for refurbishment – unlike nearly all of the Lib Dem and Conservative councillors sitting at the Town Hall, they wake up in council flats every day.
But instead of selling off properties, tenants told how they want the money to be prised out of government with an all or nothing battle with housing ministers. Beef up the campaign and take the fight to Westminster was the clear message.
Protesters were out in force at a block of flats in Aspern Grove, Belsize Park, which was earmarked for sale, on Friday. They staged a mock auction, pretending to sell off the homes owned privately by councillors.
At the real thing, Camden collected just under £3million for five houses at an auction in Piccadilly.
One of the auction team from McHugh and Co, which has been ordered by the council to sell the properties, said the homes went for “a very good price”.
Properties in West Hampstead, Belsize Park and Bloomsbury slipped out of council ownership as the developers dived in.
Candy Udwin, of Camden Defend Council Housing, said: “The government has announced that more money for council housing is being made available.
“It might not be there yet, but there is, for the first time, new funding that is worth fighting for.”
A public meeting to discuss the sell-offs will be held on July 27 at the Town Hall.
Selling off our council homes? It is the ?worst thing that they have ever done
The Town Hall told us that it had the ‘positive support’ of tenants, but when Richard Osley Tom Foot and Simon Wroe surveyed the estates for their views, it was a very different story
Paul Tomlinson
Ampthill Square
I would say most people are generally opposed to the sale of council homes. The council has huge reserves that it uses to keep the council tax down, but that money could be used to
upgrade properties. In the meantime, they should stop the
auctions.
Derek Jarman
Kennistoun and Willingham Close
When a flat comes empty they just think – we could make some money out of that. Thank God that I’m no longer a member of the Labour Party. Why they won’t give the council the money I don’t know. It just makes it hard for Dobson and Glenda Jackson.
Carol Delaney
Torriano
There is already a shortage of housing as it is. This is just making that worse. They need to find other alternatives to the sell off. The council isn’t doing enough, but they never do enough do they?
Larraine Revah
Russell Nurseries
There is no evidence of any pressure on government, other than a couple of letters. The leader and the deputy leader of the council have refused to join a delegation to government. They have no mandate to sell these homes. Tenants, councillors, MPs, unions need to come together because the louder the voice the better.
Anita Goldberg
41/43 Belsize Road
I think that if the council are doing what they say they’re doing and asking the government for money to repair our homes then they should be waiting till they get a response before they start selling them off. It’s not Camden’s fault – I think we have been punished for not joining the Almo – but they should be banging the drum a bit more. If they sell them off they’ve got no chance of getting them back.
Marjan Brazier
South End Close
There should be other ways than selling off properties.
There are 17,000 on the waiting list. People have to wait years and years. The council should be looking to put more pressure on government. We as residents think they should set up a big big action, get everyone involved.
Sheila Burke
Tybalds Close
If they are going to utilise the money to restore the bulk of the properties for tenants, then you could say it was ok. But so much of this money gets gobbled off into who knows where. They did this with the parking meters – that money was supposed to go into the roads. But that didn’t happen, did it?
Adrian Friends
Brunswick
It’s simply about the application of common sense. They are just adding to the waiting list problem. Selling off the homes is the last thing they should be doing.
Valerie Nicholades Gamages
We need properties desperately – they shouldn’t be selling them off. I’m frustrated with the whole thing. The council are spending a lot on renovations on lived-in estates when they could be renovating empty properties.
Jens Carl raanaas
Garnett House
They need to be careful selling homes. It is alright to sell off some properties – but they should be the most expensive ones, and it should be on the condition that more land is made available to build more council housing on. It is too easy to blame the government.
Audrey Gandy
Langdon House
It’s absolutely disgusting. After the Second World War, young people returning from service were promised they would have a home for life. Well there are a lot of people on the waiting list and if a flat comes empty now, who’s to say they wouldn’t sell it?
Pauline Jones
Derby Lodge
It’s absolutely appalling. There is more need now for housing than there ever was. The children of parents in housing cannot get anywhere to live in the community. The council need to get their priorities right. They leave street properties empty for years and then sell them off because they’re too expensive to maintain. It’s a false economy.
Elna Gay
Maitland Park
I think the council should do what some Housing Associations do: say to someone on the waiting list, here’s a flat, it needs redecorating, if you can do some of the work we will not take rent for a number of weeks until it balances out the repairs. It makes people think about the value of what you’ve got if you’ve sweated over it yourself.
HARVEY BASS
Tonbridge House
It’s shocking but it sums up what the Conservative/Lib Dems are doing to this borough. What else is going to be sold off? Where will it end? The only way to stop this is for Gordon Brown to come up with the money and for Labour councillors to press
for it.
Kate Spencer
Cayford House
I don’t think they should sell off any single property. The new kitchens we’ve had are a disgrace – lots of the work has had to be redone. It’s a waste, waste, waste. Is it worth selling a single home? Absolutely not. There are plenty of young couples that if given a place would do the work themselves. But Camden doesn’t think like that, they just want yuppies living round here.
Bobby Armstrong
Grafton Road
We don’t agree with selling off assets, especially at the bottom of the market. They are going to get a much smaller amount of money than they would have a couple of years ago. You don’t sell assets unless it’s the absolute last thing you can do.
Mike Cookson-Taylor Camden Association of Street Properties
We are completely opposed to sell-offs. The council has just given up the fight – I don‘t know why – but it’s not good enough to say we’ve had no response so we’re just going to sell off. It’s madness.
Ian Dungavell
Gospel Oak 7 & 8
This all stems back to the Labour government and the Almo. It is astonishing Camden Council hasn’t been able to influence the government.
Beryl Allen
Bourne Estate
It’s the worst thing they’ve ever done. I don’t believe it’s the only choice they’ve got. These properties should be for the people. The council should get rid of some of the top people with the big wages instead of getting rid of the properties.
Takeshi Hayatsu
Dunboyne Road
My opinion is that I do not think the sales are a good idea. I there is a problem with a shortage of housing stock, and selling more homes does not help the situation.
John Loughran
Ingestre Road
They shouldn’t be selling them off when there are thousands of people on the list. They’ve cut back on youth services – what are they doing with
the money they are saving?
Lenny RoDgie
Delancey Studios
It stands to reason: If you start selling council flats, sooner or later you are going to run out of council flats. Some people wonder why the kids can’t get a flat. They should be getting out there and putting more pressure on the government.
Michael Wylde
Dudley Court
We are very against it. There are still long queues for flats and the council are selling off places that could be done up to house people – it’s outrageous. They’ve got their priorities wrong.
John Gedge
Una House
It’s not a good thing for the council to sell off their property and certainly not at a time when the property market has dipped.
Silla Carron
Clarence Way
The council doesn’t seem to be getting anywhere – its all stuttering and waffle. They should leave it up to the tenants. There are a lot of big mouths like me that could go and give it large to the government – but we need the councillors backing.
Helia Evans
Ossulston
Obviously we are not in favour of this – we should provide accommodation for the people who are in need and not for people who are trying to get richer and richer. They are breaking communities.
Alfie MacLeod
Oakley Square
Lib Dem housing councillor Chris Naylor has got no balls. He has cancelled meetings with us and he won’t go to the ministers and try and get the money we need. I think we should pass a vote of no confidence in him.
Kim Redman
Camden Gardens
It’s disgusting. We can’t house people - why are we selling off properties? It’s robbing Peter to pay Paul. You’ve got thousands of people on the waiting list who are never going to get a house.
Henry Nakano
Greenwood
We just don’t feel enough is being done by the council to get some more money from the government – how they do that is for the politicians to decide. But it is unsatisfactory to be selling off the silver.
Charlie Hedges
Ainsworth and Alexander There will be nothing left for our children and grandchildren. Not everyone is so lucky to be able to afford private sector rents. The Decent Homes programme has been delayed. There is no rush to do anything. 90 per cent of the £70million or so in the reserves comes from council receipts. Why not use that? And
in any case, I’ve seen some of the works and they are a cheap bodge job. There’s no way
they will last for 30 years.
June Dodds
Peckwater
It’s crazy. I’ve got a 40-year-old son that lives with me. What chance have they got of social housing? None, until I die. It’s terrible that people who have grown up here would have to move out of London to find an affordable home. Is this money really going to repairs? I doubt it.
Meric Apak
Artesian Dwellings
It is short-minded and immoral. They should be harassing the government on a daily basis. The government has said there is money out there. If I was in Camden’s place, I would be knocking down the door.
Eddie O’Dwyer Hardington and Belmont
Nobody is safe now – it is appalling what they are doing. What people should be doing is taking legal advice to get an injunction against these sell offs.
Betty Austin
Brunswick
Where’s all the money gone from the rents? They could be raising money by not paying the top bosses so much. The little people at the bottom of the pile are not getting a bean.
Graham Bacon Birchington
They shouldn’t be selling these homes at auction anyway – they should be offering a fixed price. We are against the sales – the money should be made available by central government. |
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