Lambeth's plans to demolish Cressingham Gardens and other estates without the consent of residents

[ViolentPanda]

To be absolutely fair to the Cabinet, the view last night was that 23 was not enough. Cllr Peck stated that whatever plans are now drawn up, the development manager* should aim to work for a higher number than this.

Nope, sorry, if they want me to be "absolutely fair" to them, they should have noticed that 23 homes wasn't enough before their rubber-stamping meeting, not after. As it is, what they did looks very like a 6-yr-old muttering "sorry" when they're caught raiding the biscuit tin - they're only sorry about getting caught.

But how higher? 100? 50? 25?

It's all about spreadsheet balancing, and not communities. Plus having 100 extra council houses will take you a step closer to that magical 1,000 figure, but at what sacrifice to the landscape of the Park?

Well quite!

Cabinet has picked the wrong fight with the wrong people at the wrong location.

I suspect our local councillors are getting it in the neck from "the cabinet". If so,good. If they told 'em we'd be pushovers, they seriously misjudged us!

I'm not sure who they should be fighting with actually, if anyone at all.

They should be serving their electorate, rather than fighting their core vote.

*Brixton Green had a presence at Cabinet last night.

Oh Lordy.

I'd love Mr. Carroll to start his nonsense round here. I reckon we'd eat him alive, friends in high-(ish) places or not.

 

[19sixtysix]

I think Labour is vulnerable. Candidates for mayor are spouting off about housing and I think at some point the estates will need to help trip them up. Due to me opting to vote in the leadership election I'm getting loads of emails including those from mayoral candidates. Tessa Jowell has sent me an email to tell her our housing stories of poor landlords. Report lambeth here.

 

[Gramsci]

I think Labour is vulnerable. Candidates for mayor are spouting off about housing and I think at some point the estates will need to help trip them up. Due to me opting to vote in the leadership election I'm getting loads of emails including those from mayoral candidates. Tessa Jowell has sent me an email to tell her our housing stories of poor landlords. Report lambeth here.

Thing is her actual policies are vague and vacuous. Nothing much to frighten me if I was a property developer.

Nothing about Council housing for example.

And as with Lambeth Labour and Cressingham much talk about "mixed communities". Read : Council housing is a failure.

Tessa is banking on being the candidate who is "electable" due to her nods in the direction of social equity without scaring off the property owning middle classes.

 

[Gramsci]

They should be serving their electorate, rather than fighting their core vote.

I'd love Mr. Carroll to start his nonsense round here. I reckon we'd eat him alive, friends in high-(ish) places or not.

Which is what saddens me about the demo last night. No sign of anyone in the Labour party present. Its like the core vote is an embarrassment.


I do wonder if Cressingham residents will be asked about the Somerleyton road model that the Council is developing with the ever so helpful Brixton Green. As last Council report cited by Tricky Skills in Brixton Buzz says the model/ vehicle being developed in Somerleyton road may be used elsewhere in Lambeth.

 

[Gramsci]

Here's the Buzz piece. It's pretty much a quote for quote as to how to how the evening unfolded at Cabinet. The debate was passionate, but I can't but help think that there was no real debate. The decision had long since been made.

Starting reading this. Its very good. I stayed outside with the demo so didnt hear this.

Just read this.

Meanwhile Cllr Jack Hopkins was keen to draw upon his experience of regeneration at Somerleyton Road:

“It is a lot easier to do regeneration with a blank canvas like Somerleyton Road. The process hasn’t gone right. Recognising that you already have a strong community is important.”

FFS Hopkins it wasnt a blank canvas.

There was a longstanding community there that the Council evicted.

And excuse me Hopkins I thought Somerleyton road project was supposed to be involving the community.

With the Cabinet agreeing to total demolition then its making Cressingham into a blank slate.

 

[Gramsci]

Here's the Buzz piece. It's pretty much a quote for quote as to how to how the evening unfolded at Cabinet. The debate was passionate, but I can't but help think that there was no real debate. The decision had long since been made.

Classic performance from the supreme leader Peck.

She is good at "listening" and urging officers to try harder.

The difference between her and some of the other Cllrs like Bennett is that she tries to make out she is responding to residents concerns. Its a way to defuse ( or try to) opposition.

Make no mistake she wants to push this scheme through.

She is more clever than Bennett. She is playing the long game. She knows this scheme will take years to come to fruition.

Expect more direct intervention from her in next months.

 

[Greebo]

<snip> Make no mistake she wants to push this scheme through.

She is more clever than Bennett. She is playing the long game. She knows this scheme will take years to come to fruition.

Expect more direct intervention from her in next months.

Warning appreciated. I wondered how much of the chronic problem with communication (even the ward councillors were kept in the dark and fed shit eg not told that the Test Of Opinion wouldn't ask every adult on the estate) was manufactured and encouraged instead of being a bad case of lambethitis.

 

[ViolentPanda]

I really resented one of the cabinet members comments at the end saying that if they spent the money on Cressingham Gardens to refurb it, they would have to take the money from another estate in the borough. He failed to explain though what is happening to the £1.2m pa in council rent that Cressingham Gardens is already paying the council (less £200k for basic shoddy repairs) ... they are using Cressingham as a cash cow to fund other estates already...

Apart from anything else, we could apply precisely the same logic to Lambeth's spending on bringing other estates up to standard. We know, for example, that Hurst Street had £14 million spent on it, yet we're not mithering that Hurst St has taken money from us.
As always, shoddy thinking from our councillors.
Think I might drop a line to the SLP's letter page.

 

[ViolentPanda]

Which is what saddens me about the demo last night. No sign of anyone in the Labour party present. Its like the core vote is an embarrassment.

Frankly, I'm unsurprised. Labour locally is so entirely captured by the careerists and the wiberal types, that they're utterly uninterested in their core vote except when they're after retaining a ward or six.

I do wonder if Cressingham residents will be asked about the Somerleyton road model that the Council is developing with the ever so helpful Brixton Green. As last Council report cited by Tricky Skills in Brixton Buzz says the model/ vehicle being developed in Somerleyton road may be used elsewhere in Lambeth.

Shudder.

 

[Robert Langtry]

Ref. #721 by 19sixtysix. Tessa Jowell. report trouble with bad Landlords.
This is a good one! Remember Lambeth Living Ltd., was a Private Limited Company, registered at Companies House, with a Board of Directors, including Peck and Bennett at various times whose responsibilities and liabilities as Directors are still 'live' despite the Company being now disolved.
You're not trying to prove anything in court, all you are doing is telling Tessa Jowell that when it came to repairs and maintaining of their properties etc. what a incompetant company this Landlord was.

 

[Tricky Skills]

You're not trying to prove anything in court, all you are doing is telling Tessa Jowell that when it came to repairs and maintaining of their properties etc. what a incompetant company this Landlord was.

And who is in charge of running Dame Tessa's campaign?

Ah, that will be Pete No Seat Robbins, the ex-Cabinet member that started the Cressingham ball rolling.

Tell Tessa about a dodgy landlord.

Hypocrites of the highest order.

 

[Greebo]

Just in case anyone was neither there nor caught the news

Spoiler

 

[Belushi]

Lots of urbanites in that clip :thumbs :

It's a really impressive campaign, I'm sure Lambeth weren't expecting this level of well organised opposition!

 

[Greebo]

<snip> It's a really impressive campaign, I'm sure Lambeth weren't expecting this level of well organised opposition!

Well organised? Glad it looked like that, but we really could do a lot better. In an impressive show of solidarity, even people from Central Hill (another threatened estate) turned up, and they're a lot further out.

It helps that there's quite a wide range of skills and personality types, so what one person can't do, another can.

 

[Gramsci]

Well organised? Glad it looked like that, but we really could do a lot better. In an impressive show of solidarity, even people from Central Hill (another threatened estate) turned up, and they're a lot further out.

It helps that there's quite a wide range of skills and personality types, so what one person can't do, another can.

Agree with Belushi I was impressed on the day. It was well organised and you all worked together.

Thats not easy to do when you are all under the pressure that Lambeth has put you. For officers they are paid to do this. Cllrs get allowances.

All of you are doing this with in your spare time. Its not an equal battle.

 

[Gramsci]

Just in case anyone was neither there nor caught the news

Spoiler

Thats a really good short film. Well edited.

Yes and the bigger picture is that the idea of Council housing needs to be defended.

 

[Gramsci]

It helps that there's quite a wide range of skills and personality types, so what one person can't do, another can.

This is good point.

Its a good idea imo to step back a little and see what works and what does not.

Living in a Coop for years I realise that collective action works best when you can see what individuals strengths and weaknesses are. No one is perfect. Its a balancing act.

 

[Greebo]

<snip> Its a good idea imo to step back a little and see what works and what does not.

Living in a Coop for years I realise that collective action works best when you can see what individuals strengths and weaknesses are. No one is perfect. Its a balancing act.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[beareis]

Piss taking? http://www.theguardian.com/housing-...thousands-homes-town-down-cressingham-gardens

 

[ViolentPanda]

Piss taking? http://www.theguardian.com/housing-...thousands-homes-town-down-cressingham-gardens

The article, or the behaviour of the council?
I think the article is all over the place in trying to place the issue at Osborne's door, and that the behaviour of Lambeth Council is, as always, piss-taking, shoddy and short-termist.

 

[ViolentPanda]

Page 5 of today's SLP.

 

[Maharani]

http://www.theguardian.com/housing-...own-down-cressingham-gardens#comment-55887321

 

[Maharani]

Couple of urbs in this:


Do you mind if I tag?

 

[editor]

Fucking insane:

The residents now expect to lose their homes shortly after being forced to pay thousands of pounds to ensure they are in good enough condition to be knocked down by bulldozers and wrecking balls.
http://www.theguardian.com/housing-...own-down-cressingham-gardens#comment-55887321

 

[editor]

And an excellent comment from an urb:

What is worse is that for all the acclaim that Lambeth (Labour) are doing this to reduce the housing waiting list, they are only proposing to build an extra 23 homes at council rent. The rest of the extra homes, plus the leaseholder replacement homes not acquired by the existing leaseholders, will be sold off or rented out at "luxury" market value prices.

Even in the Lambeth Cabinet report, it clearly admits that most of the new homes probably will only be affordable for buy-to-let landlords and people with either "higher capital assets or higher incomes."

It defies any logic to destroy a role model community of 300 homes (which even English Heritage recommends for conservation area status) just because Lambeth council has mismanaged its housing finances. Even though it collects £1.2m pa in rents from its Cressingham Gardens tenants and budgets only £200k for repairs, the council says it doesn't have enough money for new kitchens and bathrooms, let alone a new roof after 40 years.

Work hard, save hard, buy your own home, and then Lambeth Council will step in and essentially "steal" your home to make money to pay for its mismanagement. This is just a egregious property tax of the around 50%. Personally, I think Lambeth council should be stripped of any responsibility for housing.

 

[Fingers]

Couple of urbs in this:

View attachment 74138
Do you mind if I tag?

Not at all, tag away

 

[Greebo]

Couple of urbs in this: <snip> Do you mind if I tag?

I'd prefer not, as I try to keep the names I use on different bits of the internet separate, where possible. Not that I'm doing anything illegal or immoral, it's just wanting to be able to be me on here. Mostly a remnant of "don't ask, don't tell, first name only" times which are mostly (safely, I hope) in the past.

 

[SpamMisery]

I'd prefer not, as I try to keep the names I use on different bits of the internet separate, where possible. Not that I'm doing anything illegal or immoral, it's just wanting to be able to be me on here. Mostly a remnant of "don't ask, don't tell, first name only" times which are mostly (safely, I hope) in the past.

By posting that, haven't you essentially just tagged yourself as being in the picture? I assumed that's what Maharani meant. Or were you saying something else?

 

[Greebo]

By posting that, haven't you essentially just tagged yourself as being in the picture? I assumed that's what Maharani meant. Or were you saying something else?

I thought she meant tagging for facebook or similar.

 

[Maharani]

I meant on here. No worries, I'm glad I asked first. I am in the picture yes SpamMisery. You can play 'where's Maharani' if you like...