Petition to save our estate

Published: 4 March 2010

• WE are a family resident on the Cumberland Market estate and like most are appalled at the Crown Estate’s proposal to sell off our homes (Forum, February 23).

We are relative newcomers having lived her for 15 years and have a son of seven who attends a local school.

These plans threaten our security of tenure and we have received no guarantees that any potential buyer will not raise our rents above what we, and many others, can afford.

We have always been happy with the way the estate is run and the sense of community is unprecedented, and somewhat unusual in this day and age.

We are lucky enough to have a relatively crime- and drug-free estate. It is clean and friendly and residents look out for each other. We have allotments at the centre of the estate which have become an increasingly vibrant part of the estate attracting young people and families.

Every political party talks of Broken Britain.

I invite any politician to come and visit our estate. It is a model of when and how social housing works.
The Crown should be proud of their achievement and the community they have sustained, and not be pandering to property speculators.

You can put a price on the “bricks and mortar” but you cannot put a price on our community or the cost of its loss.

If the sale goes ahead then priority for key workers will probably cease.

There are currently many firefighters, teachers, nurses and other key workers on the estate. This sale will affect every resident in Camden as these people could no longer afford to work or live in central London.

Local recruitment and services would be affected, it is potentially devastating for us all.
All this said, we have a very pro-active residents’ committee who have massive support from the residents, we will fight this all the way.

We ask for your support please by completing our online petition to No10 at
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/crownresidents
Name and address supplied

Fears of residents

• HOW sad it is that the Crown Estate, with almost 100 years’ experience of providing high-quality, affordable, housing are proposing to sell these homes to the highest bidder. 

Crown Estate Residents’ Association chair, Steve Smith, captured the disappointment and fears of residents in his Forum piece and in a deputation to full council on Monday evening.

The Cumberland Market estate is an integral part of our local community in Regent’s Park ward.
It provides affordable homes for key workers in the borough, nurses, teachers, police etc, who would otherwise find it difficult to take jobs in our local schools and hospitals. This also means that the Crown Estate has a wider importance to Camden as a whole.

So a sale to private landlords, who would be able to hike rents and sell off the properties, is in the worst interests of the residents and the council alike. 

We have already seen the huge profits private developers have made from “flipping” council flats sold on the open market and tenants of the Church Commissioners saw this happen when their homes were sold off.  Why should we believe that this would not be the fate of the Crown Estate residents if a sale goes ahead?

All three ward councillors and Frank Dobson have vowed to do whatever it takes to convince the Crown Estate commissioners that a sale is not in the best interests of the residents and does not conform to the Crown Estate’s ideals of stewardship and sustainability. 

The Conservative/Lib Dem administration has now agreed to put their voices behind the campaign and, along with the other boroughs affected, we will continue to support the residents on a cross-party basis.
These were “homes built for heroes”.

We must ensure that they remain available for the nurses, police, fire fighters etc that are our current and future heroes!
Cllr Heather Johnson
Labour, Regent’s Park ward

Sign up

• I NOTE that George Galloway has tabled an early day motion (No 888) opposing the sell-off of Crown Estate properties in Regent’s Park and elsewhere in London, and that Glenda Jackson has already signed it.
At time of writing Frank Dobson had not done so.

I would urge him to represent the strength of opposition within his constituency to this move, which is causing great disquiet for residents and threatens the future of a key part of affordable housing provision in the area.
Natalie Bennett
Green Party candidate
Holborn and St Pancras

Opposition

• I AM concerned at the Crown Estate’s proposed sale of Cumberland Market estate. We have been given no guarantees, as regards fair rents, and security of tenure.

The person in control,  was in charge of the Church Commissioners’ sell-off of rented property, which resulted in higher rent, poor standards of maintenance and repair, and the curtailing of key-worker accommodation.

In addition any flats that become vacant, were promptly sold to the highest bidder, resulting in fewer rented properties for those in need. The vast majority of Crown tenants, are against the proposal.
Visit: www.ourhomesarenotforsale.co.uk
G Callaby
Redhill Street, NW1