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Angel pub on Coldharbour Lane becomes arty community space run by Brick Box

"The loss of social-rented homes in regeneration or redevelopment schemes can be significant and tends to be justified by claims of the development of ‘mixed and balanced communities’. For example, 1,900 homes of the Ferrier Estate in Greenwich are to be demolished and replaced by 4,000 new homes. Only 1,480 of the new homes are to be affordable and only half of the affordable ones are to be social-rented – resulting in a loss of 1,160 social-rented homes."

Worth a read: http://www.londontenants.org/publications/other/theafordablehousingconf.pdf

As usual, the reasons for social housing sometimes not having a "mixed and balanced community" isn't elucidated by those politicians supporting and/or driving these developments: That party policy and politics themselves caused the residualisation of social housing from "mixed and balanced communities" to the current less-than-perfect mix.
 
What happens to tenants who are decanted when their flat was demolished if there isn't enough new housing for them? Serious question.

The private rental sector accommodates them.

Of course, that's not really the full story, because the tension between demand for housing and availability of housing in many parts of London (and many other areas too) is such that demand drives prices up, and with 85%+ of Housing Benefit claims being made by people in work, and those sums capped, people decanted from social housing will find themselves, more and more, unable to meet market rental prices even with Housing Benefit contributing toward the cost.
 
Shit. That's a very worrying stat.

And it's not widely-known, because it's not in the interests of our glorious leaders and their friends for people to know that HB claimants aren't "scroungers", but are mostly working claimants who claim purely because their wages don't begin to meet their living costs. :(
 
And it's not widely-known, because it's not in the interests of our glorious leaders and their friends for people to know that HB claimants aren't "scroungers", but are mostly working claimants who claim purely because their wages don't begin to meet their living costs. :(

Too right. I take it the figure is higher in London than the rest of the country.
 
Too right. I take it the figure is higher in London than the rest of the country.

Not massively so. Basically anywhere there's a surplus of demand over supply, so throughout the UK, but especially bad in the south-west of England, from what I can make out. The lowest average wages allied to some of the highest rental prices this side of Canary Wharf means that poor south-westerners are probably claiming at as high a rate, or perhaps even higher. :(
 
Seems pertinent to this thread.

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Not massively so. Basically anywhere there's a surplus of demand over supply, so throughout the UK, but especially bad in the south-west of England, from what I can make out. The lowest average wages allied to some of the highest rental prices this side of Canary Wharf means that poor south-westerners are probably claiming at as high a rate, or perhaps even higher. :(
Shit. That's a very worrying stat.

And that housing benefit is making landlords very rich indeed, especially with interest rates near zero.
 
And that housing benefit is making landlords very rich indeed, especially with interest rates near zero.

Yup.
One of these days I'm going to find a couple of weeks to combing the Commons register of members' interests and attempting to establish how many of our supposed representatives are landlords themselves.
Besides the Chancellor of the Exchequer, obviously.
 
Yup.
One of these days I'm going to find a couple of weeks to combing the Commons register of members' interests and attempting to establish how many of our supposed representatives are landlords themselves.
Besides the Chancellor of the Exchequer, obviously.

Yes. exactly. It's a silent conspiracy.

But it's not just housing benefit that helps landlords. It's a tax system that allows them to dodge income tax or capital gains tax.

Their rewards make a mockery of those who have saved, or invested in a pension.
 
Yes. exactly. It's a silent conspiracy.

But it's not just housing benefit that helps landlords. It's a tax system that allows them to dodge income tax or capital gains tax.

Housing Benefit has been a big part of it, though, at least for the "slumlord" type of landlord with a chain of HMOs, for a very long time. Now, with BTL, it's possibly not as prevalent as it once was overall, but it still dominates in some locales.
As for the tax issues, yes, landlordism is rife with favourable treatment, from the "rent a room" scheme, right through to what I suppose we should call "property magnates", there's something for everyone, bar the tenants.

Their rewards make a mockery of those who have saved, or invested in a pension.

Their rewards are, they believe, commensurate with their position as "entrepreneurs" rather than modern-day Rachmanns and, of course, far better-protected tha anything as quotidian as savings or a pension scheme.
 
Just watching BBC London news, i am fairly sure i just saw Prince Charles with Brick Box at this place.
Should cheer some of you up no end!
should be on iplayer later
all i could find with a quick google
http://www.google.com/hostednews/uk...qX-nH2Fe-7CIl7Mng?docId=N0394771340183960276A
Someone should send him the photos on their website - and my one from "Goodbye to Uncle Tom"
That might make him sit up and think.
He certainly does NOT have the local knowledge to invest in Brixton.
The Railway Hotel thingy was a disaster. £250,000 down the drain I heard. Is that an exageration?
The only time I saw him was when he re-opened Brixton Marks after an upgrade.
He should stick to M&S. At least you know what you're getting into.
AND M&S GIVE donations to community work - not leach it out into consultancies!
This is sending him way down in my estimation - I thought he just talked to plants.
Stick to the dodgy biscuits and jam mate!
 
There were three police officers outside the back entrance @ 9.40 am (I went past to get the bus to the Dalai Lama thing). There were people inside the bar. No sign of breaking and entering though.
 
I wish the old owners of the Angel had been able to connect to these juicy grants.
Unfortunately Ricky spent too much time in the betting shop to care.
The old South London Hi-Fi shop was also run by him. Got some good Hi-Fi stuff in there in the 1990s.
Their engineer, Alf, took their shop on Brixton Hill over. Good for spares. I see even that has changed hands now.
Plus ça change.
 
Unfortunately Ricky spent too much time in the betting shop to care.
The old South London Hi-Fi shop was also run by him. Got some good Hi-Fi stuff in there in the 1990s.
Their engineer, Alf, took their shop on Brixton Hill over. Good for spares. I see even that has changed hands now.
Plus ça change.

Alfs store has moved to Streatham.
 
Alfs store has moved to Streatham.
Perhaps he will get me a new rubber band for my Thorens 126 turntable then.
And some filament lamps. Can't see what speed it's supposed to be going at - and it takes about 2 minutes to get to full speed anyway. But it's worth it to hear some non-digitised sound for a change!
 
Perhaps he will get me a new rubber band for my Thorens 126 turntable then.
And some filament lamps. Can't see what speed it's supposed to be going at - and it takes about 2 minutes to get to full speed anyway. But it's worth it to hear some non-digitised sound for a change!

It's not a "rubber band", you bloody Philistine, it's a "drive belt"! :D.
BTW, belt for a TD-126 is anything between £10-35, depending on where you look, and whether you want a Thorens original, or a "white box" special.
 
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