Brixton Hatter
Home is south London mate
why dont you go down there and ask the residents face to face? Isn't that what journos are supposed to do?
(Or even read the local paper!)
Guinness Trust plans for Loughborough Park Estate
- Thread starter lang rabbie
- Start date
(Or even read the local paper!)
wemakeyousoundb
hopefully not gimboid
yes and yes.
Heard about the evictions a few weeks back, at this point it's ASTs from the really long building at the back of the estate, quite likely to be to rehouse AT currently living in the first building to be demolished and rebuilt.
Not that there isn't already a massive amount of empties on the estate (4 in my staircase out of 15 flats, and I think that's about the average proportion all around)
Yep, my friend has been involved in the (unofficial) Tenant Association, I've told her she might want to try and get on the Lambeth Housing Waiting list, as this is totally out of her hands she might get rehoused reasonably quickly I would have hoped, then again this IS Lambeth...
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
25,000 on the waiting list right now 
We were on the list for years as medical priority one (that was probably a Lambeth fuck-up though)
We were on the list for years as medical priority one (that was probably a Lambeth fuck-up though)
wemakeyousoundb
hopefully not gimboid
No idea what it's like now, but sounds like hell.25,000 on the waiting list right now
I had a friend with medical priority who was in trouble with them for years before he got a place, and somehow he ended up in Croydon in the end.
I was lucky when I got this flat, some priority need via a social worker and the fact that the estate was hard to let at the time (I know several people who decided to wait longer rather than get a flat here in those days) but this has changed since the drug dealer gauntlet in somerleyton road is gone and all the entrance to the outer flats on the moorlands estate have been moved on to the road rather than inside the estate as they used to be.
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
When we were on the list we were begging for a place on Moorlands because we thought we'd get rehoused sooner.
wemakeyousoundb
hopefully not gimboid
tbh, I rather liked the flats on the moorlands estate and in southwyck house when I used to squat there, I prefer their layout to the ones in the GT
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
When we were on the waiting list no-one wanted to live there.
Would anyone who lives on the estate be interested in talking me to about the issue? Their quotes would go in a news article about the evictions to be published on Thurday on www.swlondoner.co.uk/news.
Brixton Hatter
Home is south London mate
Welcome to U75 Lizzie. I'll take you at face value because I am kind and fair person. However you'll remember the terms and conditions when you signed up, which include this:
http://www.urban75.net/forums/help/terms said:
Ask them. Go on!
wemakeyousoundb
hopefully not gimboid
a bit harsh on yourself there
Brixton Hatter
Home is south London mate
well that's a bit drastic! You'll get a lot out of urban75 if you contribute and get involved.
In the past, lazy journalists have often used this board as a basis for stories and have even quoted posters from here in their newspaper articles without referencing U75 or asking the permission of the individuals involved. I think a lot of journos think they can get away with doing entire stories without ever getting their arse off their chair. Maybe I'm a bit old fashioned but I think there's no substitute for speaking to someone face to face and looking in to their eyes. Actually visiting the estate and seeing it with your own eyes will most probably give you a better story, not to mention some decent descriptive stuff to work with and seeing people face to face. You certainly can't assume all the residents of GT are members here.
But far be it from me to tell you how to do your job...good luck because it's a story worth telling
jeremyclyne
Member
With regard to the Council acting on the "informative" about AST residents being rehoused on the estate I have attempted to submit a Scrutiny Committee question about this, but so far my efforts have been blocked. I'll keep you posted.
Jeremy Clyne
Lib Dem councillor, Streatham Hill Ward
editor
hiraethified
Good luck with this.
well that's a bit drastic! You'll get a lot out of urban75 if you contribute and get involved.
In the past, lazy journalists have often used this board as a basis for stories and have even quoted posters from here in their newspaper articles without referencing U75 or asking the permission of the individuals involved. I think a lot of journos think they can get away with doing entire stories without ever getting their arse off their chair. Maybe I'm a bit old fashioned but I think there's no substitute for speaking to someone face to face and looking in to their eyes. Actually visiting the estate and seeing it with your own eyes will most probably give you a better story, not to mention some decent descriptive stuff to work with and seeing people face to face. You certainly can't assume all the residents of GT are members here.
But far be it from me to tell you how to do your job...good luck because it's a story worth telling
I'm still here! Yeah that was a bit drastic, I live in fear of being caught out by terms and conditions. I just thought it was a really useful way of getting in touch with people. Obviously members aren't all GT tenants but people obviously have an interest in the subject and I thought some might like the opportunity to comment publicly.
You should do those journalists for copyright by the way. On a seperate note about the industry, it's a sad fact that visiting places and talking to people on the street is becoming less feasible. Newspapers, particularly local ones, have downsized so much that the remaining journalists have to write so much copy that proper old-fashioned investigation isn't possible or sometimes permitted in a working day.
I'm studying full-time at the moment so haven't been able to get down to the estate. The article is due tomorrow so too late now, that's why I've been trying to set up some phone interviews but no such luck.
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
To be honest I don't think the site owner (editor) has the time or the financial resources. This site is run on a wing, a prayer and elastic band plus the goodwill of a small band of volunteers and posters who contribute voluntarily to pay the server costs......
The worst rip-off I remember was a journalist who did a double page spread in the Evening Standard about 9 years ago whose vox-pop consisted entirely of quotes lifted wholesale from this site. Unfortunately he took humorous asides as serious comment which made him look somewhat stupid.
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
....on the other hand some really great news stories originated on this site, most notably this one which kept the nation amused for a week or two
http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/can-squirrels-get-addicted-to-crack.62414/
....and also this one
http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/brixton-movement-for-justice-march.1/
http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/can-squirrels-get-addicted-to-crack.62414/
....and also this one
http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/brixton-movement-for-justice-march.1/
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
Thanks for this. There was article in SLP about GT estate on Friday saying that the S/L residents are being told to leave before Xmas. Cant find it on SLP website.
Brixton Hatter
Home is south London mate
Not to mention the Brian Paddick "I've always been intrigued by the idea of anarchy" thread which led to a shitstorm in the national media (and Brian sadly eventually losing his job) and thousands of people joining U75 back in 2002 (myself included.)
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
That was the second thread I put in that post.
Brixton Hatter
Home is south London mate
)
wemakeyousoundb
hopefully not gimboid
Too bad.
The unofficial Tenant Association (as in: not recognised by the Guinness trust) is organising a meeting on Saturday November 5th at 11am (the poster mentioned the meeting room but I'm a bit dubious due to their past experiences of having to actually meet outside in the cold instead)
AFAIK a lot (50 families mentioned earlier in the thread) of AST have been sent eviction notices for November 20th (no idea what might have come after that as I am not directly concerned by this and haven't bumped into anyone since being told this)
One of the main mover in the tenant association is friend with a SLP journalist which is how it gets featured in there regularly I think.
jeremyclyne
Member
I amended and resubmitted my Scrutiny Committee question, making clear some of the serious issues involved - it was rejected the first time because it was not deemed to be "strategic" enough. Am waiting to hear if it is going to be allowed to be heard.
wemakeyousoundb
hopefully not gimboid
Latest Tenants Association poster states the evicted families will receive £5000 towards moving costs.
It does not solve the problem of them having to find new accommodation but I guess it helps a bit, still, private sector rent is going to be much higher than what they pay now.
It does not solve the problem of them having to find new accommodation but I guess it helps a bit, still, private sector rent is going to be much higher than what they pay now.
Brixton Hatter
Home is south London mate
Given that most private rentals now require a months rent in advance (let's say £1500 which seems to be curent average for a three bed flat), 6 weeks deposit (£2100), estate agency fees (about £200), inventory fees (£150) etc, not to mention moving costs etc, that's the best part of 4 grand gone already.
£5k looks like a decent bribe on behalf of GT...but bad news for families who lose reasonably priced accomodation and any semblance of security....
£5k looks like a decent bribe on behalf of GT...but bad news for families who lose reasonably priced accomodation and any semblance of security....
wemakeyousoundb
hopefully not gimboid
I have no idea how the private rental works but that sounds bad, then again what I read about the French one makes this sound about right (you need to earn 3 times the amount of rent you need to pay to be in with a chance over there, and then, you probably need people to vouch for you too).
I think the "bribe" is something that the Guinness trust has to pay, rather than it being some sort of voluntary gesture from them, but that is what i think based on the fact that they have to pay this to the AT being displaced because of the work, whether it is a compulsory thing for them to do with AST I am not sure.
I think the "bribe" is something that the Guinness trust has to pay, rather than it being some sort of voluntary gesture from them, but that is what i think based on the fact that they have to pay this to the AT being displaced because of the work, whether it is a compulsory thing for them to do with AST I am not sure.
jeremyclyne
Member
This question, originally submitted three months ago on November 1, is finally to be heard and answered, with the opportunity for supplementary questioning, at a meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Thursday (Feb 2) at Lambeth Town Hall. Rather late in the day given the threat of eviction facing tenants in the period before Christmas. Four families are now facing possession orders.
Ironic that the question was turned down for not being strategic enough, and then when I rewrote it to make it more strategic in nature the officers only sought to address the particular case.
Text of the question and response can be read at:
http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/moderngov/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=113&MId=76232
this includes an interesting question from my colleague Kita Ogden regarding the formation of a "Tulse Hill Forum" which because it has been set up on the basis of the Tulse Hill Ward, includes a large part of Brixton (as far as St Matthews Church) but does not include the centre of Tulse Hill itself, or parts of the area commonly considered to be Tulse Hill which find themselves in our Streatham Hill Ward.
Loughborough Park Question:
1 The Guinness Trust submitted by Councillor Jeremy Clyne
Planning permission was granted on March 2 to Guinness Trust for the
redevelopment of the Loughborough Park Estate subject to an informative
stating:
“the Planning Applications Committee request that Lambeth’s Housing officers
work with Guinness Trust to make best endeavours to ensure all AST residents
in housing need are re-housed on the redeveloped Loughborough Park Estate.
This request is to be communicated directly to Lambeth’s Housing officers by the
Planning Division.”
It has been reported that 50 families are to be evicted before Christmas.
What actions were undertaken by the council’s housing and planning officers in
accordance with this decision? Concerns have been discussed by this
committee in the past regarding the implementation of planning committee
decisions and the correct reporting of committee decisions.
After the committee last discussed these issues what action was taken to tighten
up on procedures?
The use of an informative in this case suggests that the Council has
no powers in this regard. Are planning officers using devices such as this to lead PAC
members to vote for officer recommendations. There have been a number of
recent cases giving rise to this concern.
What requests or approaches were made in this connection to Guinness Trust?
How effective and active is the Housing Department’s partnership working with
Housing Associations operating in the borough?
Response:
Before, during and after the planning application there were
regularly scheduled meetings with Lambeth (Housing, Regeneration and Environment) and Guinness
Trust and the HCA to discuss the progress of the scheme and the strategies for
bringing it forward. This included the need to provide support to the
tenants and Housing officers were already using their best endeavours to assist Guinness
Trust’s tenants. It was never planned by Guinness Trusts that these tenants
would be re-housed within the development. In both the committee report and on
the evening (see reported minutes), officers made it clear that the proposed
development would result in the termination of a number of assured shorthold
tenancies. This was not a planning issue and therefore regard could not be made
to this in coming to a decision on the planning application.
The Council’s Housing Options and Advice Service have been working with
residents since the summer when a number of surgeries took place to inform
tenants of their rights and move on options. Since October two housing advisers
have been allocated to exclusively work with the residents. Advice and support
has been offered to groups of residents and at one to one sessions including
numerous home visits. Guinness Trust offered all residents a home loss and
disturbance payment of approximately £5,000 and we have worked with tenants
to help them move into alternative rented accommodation. A number of families
have made homelessness applications and have been placed into temporary
accommodation.
Of the 53 households we contacted 27 are single and 26 are families. As of this
week:
28 households have moved on with our help:
• 8 have been placed in temporary accommodation and
• 5 have been rehoused via our Rent deposit Scheme
• 15 households have moved into private rented accommodation or made their
own arrangements
Of the remaining 25:
• 14 are not in Priority need and are still being case worked by the Housing
Options and Advice Service and eligible via our Home Finder Deposit
Guarantee scheme to assist them to more into alternative private rented
accommodation
• 3 have refused temporary accommodation preferring to try and make their
own arrangements
• 4 have refused to engage and Possession Orders have been granted and
• 4 have applied as homeless and we are in the process of assessing them
--
Brixton Hatter
Home is south London mate
Thanks for the update. Any feedback from the meeting?
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
I notice that the officers reply to Jeremys question did not mention the "informative" agreed at Planning Committee.
* Add informative that the Planning Applications Committee request that Lambeth’s Housing officers work with Guinness Trust to make best endeavours to ensure all AST residents in housing need are re-housed on the redeveloped Loughborough Park Estate. This request is to be communicated directly to Lambeth’s Housing officers by the Planning Division
* Add informative that the Planning Applications Committee request that Lambeth’s Housing officers work with Guinness Trust to make best endeavours to ensure all AST residents in housing need are re-housed on the redeveloped Loughborough Park Estate. This request is to be communicated directly to Lambeth’s Housing officers by the Planning Division
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