Monkeygrinder's Organ
Dodgy geezer swilling vapid lager
Not even that in a lot of these places. If you're a couple both earning that then you might stretch to it.
Heygate Estate redevelopment: just 79 social rented units out of a total 2,535 new homes
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Not even that in a lot of these places. If you're a couple both earning that then you might stretch to it.
Brixton Hatter
Home is south London mate
This is how corruption works in local Government. You only have to nobble a couple of councillors.
There was a bit in Private Eye this week about the bargain Lend Lease got for buying the land.
Here's the New Statesman's coverage Highlights/extrapolation:
Southwark got only £55m for the 22-acre Heygate site, having already spent £43.5m on clearing the estate, and expects to spend £6.6m more before its demolition. Therefore, this huge site in the centre of the World's greatest city has been sold to a foreign developer at a loss to the taxpayer of £100,000.
For comparison, the neighbouring Oakmayne/Tribeca Square development site, which is only 1.5 acres, was sold in 2011 for £40m.
The initial estimate of the Elephant & Castle site's gross development value was £990m. Now, Lend Lease are predicted to make a profit of £194m.
There will be a total of 2,535 houses in the new development, of which only 79 will be available to Council tenants.
Southwark Council's leader, Peter John, had guaranteed that the plans would involve 25 per cent of affordable housing, which already was 10 per cent less than it should have been according to official Council policy. Mr John is under investigation because he failed to declare one of the two tickets for the Olympics opening ceremony, costing £1,600 each, that were given to him by Lend Lease.
The Australian company, which was contracted to build the Olympic Games Village, earlier this year agreed to pay fines of $56m for over-billing authorities on public contracts in New York. It is not known how much profit Lend Lease made from the Olympics, but its profits rose by 28 per cent in 2012. We do know that the project cost the UK taxpayer £275m.
Southwark got only £55m for the 22-acre Heygate site, having already spent £43.5m on clearing the estate, and expects to spend £6.6m more before its demolition. Therefore, this huge site in the centre of the World's greatest city has been sold to a foreign developer at a loss to the taxpayer of £100,000.
For comparison, the neighbouring Oakmayne/Tribeca Square development site, which is only 1.5 acres, was sold in 2011 for £40m.
The initial estimate of the Elephant & Castle site's gross development value was £990m. Now, Lend Lease are predicted to make a profit of £194m.
There will be a total of 2,535 houses in the new development, of which only 79 will be available to Council tenants.
Southwark Council's leader, Peter John, had guaranteed that the plans would involve 25 per cent of affordable housing, which already was 10 per cent less than it should have been according to official Council policy. Mr John is under investigation because he failed to declare one of the two tickets for the Olympics opening ceremony, costing £1,600 each, that were given to him by Lend Lease.
The Australian company, which was contracted to build the Olympic Games Village, earlier this year agreed to pay fines of $56m for over-billing authorities on public contracts in New York. It is not known how much profit Lend Lease made from the Olympics, but its profits rose by 28 per cent in 2012. We do know that the project cost the UK taxpayer £275m.
I keep reading, but I still can't make sense of it all.
Brixton Hatter
Home is south London mate
it's a fucking robbery.
toblerone3
Grrrrr
Where is the link to Urban75? Seems to have gone now. Only links to Lend Lease and Southwark Council. 
editor
hiraethified
We were too 'out there' for them.Where is the link to Urban75? Seems to have gone now. Only links to Lend Lease and Southwark Council.
sleaterkinney
Well-Known Member
From the beeb link:
So are the council getting half of the sale price?. I guess there's not as much profit in social housing...
Monkeygrinder's Organ
Dodgy geezer swilling vapid lager
Profit rather than sale price, which will be a lot less. Especially after a lot of the work has been contracted out to their subsidiaries at great expense.
in today's southwark news, council will allegedly 'receive a share of any profits after the developer has taken a 20%', although, and this is a quote now, 'councillor colley (member for regeneration) admitted that current viability tests suggested there was unlikely to be any profit.'
i don't think anything else needs to be said on top of this?!
i don't think anything else needs to be said on top of this?!
Favelado
J'adore South Shore
Well worth reading this article if you've never seen it. Adrian was the guy I met. I can't post the text because it's too long.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/mar/04/death-housing-ideal
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/mar/04/death-housing-ideal
Where did he end up?
Decent article - That GaryBaldie in the comments bit is a wanker though.
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
that's grauniad comments for you, frances
Favelado
J'adore South Shore
I don't know. I left SE17 in September 2011 and although I've kept an eye out for Heygate stories, I don't have personal links to it. You'd think some of the people deeply involved in it have passed or will pass by this thread at some point. Maybe they can tell us.
It'd be good if they did. Adrian seemed pretty clued up - Or at least, most of the things he said were things I've also thought. Looking at the Heygate, it seems to have been built out of the same kit as an estate called St Mary's in Oldham, which is where I had my first flat - There aren't any pics of St Mary's flats on the net AFAIK, but yeah, it looked quite similar.
Favelado
J'adore South Shore
The stuff about "self-fulfilling prophecy" is true. Police patrols were intentionally pulled on the Heygate. This inevitably lead to a rise in crime. Can you guess what happened next?
That's right. "Heygate Estate Crime Epidemic" style headlines in South London newspapers.
That's right. "Heygate Estate Crime Epidemic" style headlines in South London newspapers.
Favelado
J'adore South Shore
I took this one from the street where the BR station is. It's become a street of Colombian businesses. La Chatica is a great place to have a breakfast of cheesy pancakes (arepas con queso)if anyone wants to enjoy a decent cheap morning feed in a nicely kitted-out independent cafe.
This block is just huge.
Sadly. This won't be true for much longer.
This block is just huge.
Sadly. This won't be true for much longer.
adrian's still there, one of the last people standing, and has just spent 4 days at the public inquiry into the compulsory purchase orders the council issued to every single one of the leaseholders ('offering' to pay them out for really offensively small amount of money for which the people wouldn't be able to buy a shed, let alone a flat anywhere near and/or in london).
we've just incorporated all of the links into this article (as a few people have been tweeting/reporting from the public inquiry as well)
we've just incorporated all of the links into this article (as a few people have been tweeting/reporting from the public inquiry as well)
oh, flavelado, the elephant road park (hidden behind the blue monstrosities) used to be just joy to walk/tricycle past on weekends, when the latin american people would be spilling out from the local shops & cafes & playing football & just hanging out with families - the council allowed the developer to close it off before it was due (from what i remember), the developer went in, dug it all up and had not done anything since. argh.
what's really depressing is when you put the most recent insanities in the context of some 10 or more years the local campaigners have been trying to save their homes and neighbourhoods...
what's really depressing is when you put the most recent insanities in the context of some 10 or more years the local campaigners have been trying to save their homes and neighbourhoods...
Favelado
J'adore South Shore
The shops and cafes are still there aren't they? They are a brilliant example of a working class immigrant community making a real success story. That road had about 4 little Colombian businesses that were brand new or relatively new. On Sundays one of them attracted about 100 people as families went about their traditional weekly routine. There was food, music and people from 7 to 70 dancing in a space at the back of the one that's a shop/bar/dancehall. It gave new life to a street that had been a bit glum in my first time in the area in the late 90s.
I hope they're still there.
weepiper
I fix the machines that fight climate change
That's a joke. Or it would be if it was even slightly funny and not just horribly depressing and impossible to escape.
It's a joke - With the punchline being the proles will be priced out of their own prole-holes. I can't wait to see the next jolly wheeze our paymasters are going to come up with next time they get together for a coke binge.
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