Property News: Councillors urged to resist cashing in on development of Holly Lodge estate’s homes

THE Holly Lodge housing estate in Highgate faces a crunch decision over how many new homes will be available for social housing in a multi-million-pound redevelopment of seven blocks.

The Two Hall’s senior councillors will meet on Wednesday (July 20) to discuss two options for the mock-Tudor properties, which are currently being converted from 1920s bedsits into a mixture of different-sized flats.

The New Journal has learned that under one of the options, 37 per cent of home would be sold privately, 49 per cent would be council flats and 14 per cent would go to shared ownership. Under the second option, which would make a profit for the council, 46 per cent would be private sales, 40.5 per cent council flats and 13.5 per cent shared ownership. 

Currently, the seven blocks due to be redeveloped have 208 bedsits that will be turned into  larger homes. Work has already started on three of the blocks. 

Holly Lodge Residents Association secretary Grace Livingstone said the association wanted the council to ensure that only 25 per cent of homes were sold privately, which was promised when the redevelopment started under the previous Lib Dem-Tory administration.

“It may seem an easy way of getting money for the council to sell off property, but affordable housing is one of the most basic needs of people in the borough and the lack of affordable housing with secure tenures is one of the biggest sources of anxiety,” she added. 

“It is outrageous to be selling off council homes, when there is such a high rate of homelessness in Camden. 

“The government’s housing policies are going to cause homelessness, evictions and insecurity on a scale we haven’t seen in our lifetimes and it is so wrong of Camden to exacerbate that by selling off council flats.

“If they approve this measure (option 2), they will not only be breaking a promise to Holly Lodge residents, but we also believe that they will be breaking the terms of their grant from the government.  

“The council were given £1.2million from the Homes and Communities Agency and, under the terms of that grant, housing schemes are not supposed to generate a profit.

“We are very sad and angry that after all these years of talks with residents, that they might go back on a promise and sell off homes on Holly Lodge to make a profit.

“We are going to write to the council with our concerns and hope very much hope they will vote against this.”

Housing chief Labour councillor Julian Fulbrook said the final ratio of social to private homes would be dependent on the funds raised from sales. 

He said that Holly Lodge would always attract strong interest from buyers ºº– and the more cash raised, the more social housing could be provided. 

“Properties there will fetch a reasonable amount,” said Cllr Fulbrook.

But he warned it was crucial that council tenants living across the borough whose homes were in the midst of regeneration projects were not led to believe that monies raised would always be ring-fenced to spend on their own estates. He said: “I have been faced with the idea that money raised locally should be spent locally. But that is actually quite difficult to do. 

“There are opportunities in different parts of the borough that would raise money, and would need to be spent in a wider area. 

“We have a responsibility to people right across Camden.”

Cllr Fulbrook said that the council’s mantra in new developments was for a 50-50 split between private and social housing – which is an aim for new buildings in Gospel Oak, the Abbey estate in Swiss Cottage, and Chester Road in Highgate Newtown.

He said: “We want to create mixed communities that work.”

But he also told the New Journal that he was drawing up a new set of criteria to make it easier for some Camden residents to get on the property ladder.

Cllr Fulbrook added: “We have identified five different groups we would like to encourage to buy homes on our estates.”

They include: existing council house tenants, people on the waiting list who have work, the sons and daughters of council tenants, Camden-based key workers of different types and not just public servants, and borough employees. The details are due to be thrashed out at Cabinet level and could include discussions with mortgage lenders about providing preferential rates, particularly on deposits. 

This will go to scrutiny in September and Cabinet in the autumn. 

Published: 14 July 2011
by DAN CARRIER