WF Housing Summit

Subject: Report of Housing Summit

Waltham Forest Trades Council

 

Hi Comrades and Friends

Today a lively  group of housing campaigners leafleted those going into the council's Housing Summit. We were calling for all new homes to be council homes at social rent. See attached picture.

"WF Housing Summit held at the town hall brought together around two hundred people involved in housing. They were there, unfortunately not for genuine dialogue, but in reality to give an aura of legitimacy to the tiny, but most important, group - a gang of property developers who operate under the guise of housing associations, or people with a vision to find “innovative solutions” to so-called intractable problems i.e. landlords charging rents too high and bosses paying wages too low!

It was glossy materials and slick presentations. Yet it all boiled down to a series of sales pitches. “Choose my company to be the council’s partner to build homes”. “Let my outfit profit from your residents’ needs”. 

G15 a massive company with over half a million homes was proud that 100% of its rents go into new homes. So tenants not only pay directly for their own homes, but also indirectly for the homes of others! Pocket Living a company with a semblance of a social conscience has carved itself a niche in the market to produce “compact living” at a discount for single professionals. Then there was Keepmoat Regeneration, Future of London and others. 

A nod in the direction of recognizing the plight of young people was a piece of research which concluded that young people needed “more information about their options”; but with the council responding with ideas about “home-sharing” - living in spare rooms, even in old folk’s homes or about housing with shared facilities!

Linda Taaffe of WF Trade Union Council intervened at the summit saying, “ These private companies are not addressing the needs of the  thousands of people registered in housing need, or even those who live in need but don’t see any point in registering. The market will not solve the problems. Housing is a social need. We need thousands of council homes at social rent.”

This was met, amazingly, with a round of applause from those present, but with derogatory remarks from the Labour council leader."

Linda

Council's Housing Strategy