Many people will remember the day that Roy Hattersley, former Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, pulled out from appearing on the satirical topical quiz programme "Have I got News For You". In his place the producers put a tub of lard.
Saltwell and Bensham Residents Association have been asked what will happen if some of the candidates for this week's local government election dont bother to turn up at our public meeting. It would surprise us if the parties failed to take advantage of the only public meeting organised in the area during the election campaign. It would surprise us if candidates didn't want to talk to up to 100 of their constituents judging by the attendance at previous meetings. It would surprise us even more that candidates didn't want to talk to people so thirsty for political information that they are prepared to come to a church hall on a Wednesday night.
The big question the executive of the residents association needs to ask is whether they need to bring out the symbolic block of lard to represent political parties who hold their constituents in so much contempt they can't even be bothered to meet them on the night before an important election.
In an effort to encourage participation the residents association will be putting out a reserved seat for each party in the election with a reserved sign and we will be photographing the scene at the start of the debate. Whether we have to replace any of the participants with a tub of lard is entirely up to them.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
BNG and Bogus Facts
The house journal of BridgingNewcastleGateshead reveals that between 1981 and 2001 some 20,000 people left the area. When put in the context of BNG’s ongoing campaign to rid us of “abandoned” houses this sounds an incredible statistic.
However their implied context is wrong and misleading. Firstly because the statistic includes an area of Newcastle which was subject to the misguided “Going for Growth” programme of the late 1990s that laid waste to the west end of Newcastle. But more importantly you have to ask why go back to 1981!
Could it be that the mass unemployment of three recessions in the 1980s led many families to travel south for work. The drama Auf Wiedersehen Pet in the 1980s highlighted Geordie bricklayers heading for Germany to gain employment. Today enterprising northerners are offering Germans a job in the north east construction industry.
In Saltwell and Bensham the empty home rate is said to be 9% by Gateshead Council. This is a crude statistic based on Council Tax records but is barely above the national average. Crucially Saltwell and Bensham has a Jewish College that attracts students from throughout the world who stay in the area for short periods leading to a large turnover of people. In addition many houses are left empty as private small developers buy property specifically to make money on investments. Over the last 3 years prices have tripled and more people are moving into the area. Unfortunately due to BNG’s artificial cut off date of 2001 these are not factored into the equation.
In other words the market is succeeding without any help from BNG.
However their implied context is wrong and misleading. Firstly because the statistic includes an area of Newcastle which was subject to the misguided “Going for Growth” programme of the late 1990s that laid waste to the west end of Newcastle. But more importantly you have to ask why go back to 1981!
Could it be that the mass unemployment of three recessions in the 1980s led many families to travel south for work. The drama Auf Wiedersehen Pet in the 1980s highlighted Geordie bricklayers heading for Germany to gain employment. Today enterprising northerners are offering Germans a job in the north east construction industry.
In Saltwell and Bensham the empty home rate is said to be 9% by Gateshead Council. This is a crude statistic based on Council Tax records but is barely above the national average. Crucially Saltwell and Bensham has a Jewish College that attracts students from throughout the world who stay in the area for short periods leading to a large turnover of people. In addition many houses are left empty as private small developers buy property specifically to make money on investments. Over the last 3 years prices have tripled and more people are moving into the area. Unfortunately due to BNG’s artificial cut off date of 2001 these are not factored into the equation.
In other words the market is succeeding without any help from BNG.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Family Homes Hypocrisy
Gateshead Council has continually put the case that there are too many flats in Saltwell and Bensham and part of the demolition plan is to have more family homes. Gateshead council claims that people are not moving into the area due to a lack of family homes.
Meanwhile on the other side of Bensham Road, less than half a mile from the proposed demolitions of 2 and 3 beadroom terraced family homes, planning permission has been given for the demolition of a care home. The developer wants to replace the care home with 4 and 5 storey luxury flats including underground car parking. So no family homes there!
A cynical person might look at the private sector luxury flats and compare it with Gateshead Councils previous statements on the need for family homes and conclude there is some hypocrisy in its decision process. The private sector does not appear to have a problem with building high density flats in the area and it seems to attract enough buyers. So why is Gateshead Council putting the case for family homes?
The same developer who is building high density luxury flats originally bought the land with the promise of building an "urban village" of family homes. It has built some family homes but it's big profits come from ever smaller high density flats.
Local residents ask whether Gateshead Council really believes that private developers will really want to build quality family homes when they have built high profit low quality flats on the other side of the road. Gateshead Council claims it can insist on the building of family homes - a pledge it has failed to live up to in every part of Gateshead.
Meanwhile on the other side of Bensham Road, less than half a mile from the proposed demolitions of 2 and 3 beadroom terraced family homes, planning permission has been given for the demolition of a care home. The developer wants to replace the care home with 4 and 5 storey luxury flats including underground car parking. So no family homes there!
A cynical person might look at the private sector luxury flats and compare it with Gateshead Councils previous statements on the need for family homes and conclude there is some hypocrisy in its decision process. The private sector does not appear to have a problem with building high density flats in the area and it seems to attract enough buyers. So why is Gateshead Council putting the case for family homes?
The same developer who is building high density luxury flats originally bought the land with the promise of building an "urban village" of family homes. It has built some family homes but it's big profits come from ever smaller high density flats.
Local residents ask whether Gateshead Council really believes that private developers will really want to build quality family homes when they have built high profit low quality flats on the other side of the road. Gateshead Council claims it can insist on the building of family homes - a pledge it has failed to live up to in every part of Gateshead.
More Leading Questions from BNG
In a leaflet delivered to 77,000 Tyneside homes BridgingNewcastleGateshead, the secretive government committee behind the local pathfinder projects, published the following results to it's questionaire.
Three quarters of people wanted to see a better choice of housing in their area. Nearly 90% of people think that empty and abandoned homes are the main problem and 88% of people want new ways to help people buy their own homes.
All of these are laudible and predictable responses. Of course nowhere is the question asking whether people want their home demolished so there is more housing choice. In Saltwell and Bensham the press are shown several examples of "abandoned" housing in Armstrong Street in order to convince the media of the need for demolition. The owner of most of the "abandoned" housing is Gateshead Council. If the new housing choice comes onstream in Saltwell and Bensham prices will start at ten times the average full time salary for the area thus making purchase for hard working families an ever more remote possibilty.
The problem with BridgingNewcastleGateshead surveys is that they ask leading questions. Of course everyone wants better choice and people want to own their own home. However if you live in an inner city choice is restricted by space and if you are on a low wage you might not be able to afford the home of your dreams. Aspirational questions are bound to get answers that support people's hopes and imply that housing renewal can deliver. Unfortunately housing renewal cannot deliver higher wages or low cost mortages so ultimately the process may build unrealistic expectations only to let people down.
Three quarters of people wanted to see a better choice of housing in their area. Nearly 90% of people think that empty and abandoned homes are the main problem and 88% of people want new ways to help people buy their own homes.
All of these are laudible and predictable responses. Of course nowhere is the question asking whether people want their home demolished so there is more housing choice. In Saltwell and Bensham the press are shown several examples of "abandoned" housing in Armstrong Street in order to convince the media of the need for demolition. The owner of most of the "abandoned" housing is Gateshead Council. If the new housing choice comes onstream in Saltwell and Bensham prices will start at ten times the average full time salary for the area thus making purchase for hard working families an ever more remote possibilty.
The problem with BridgingNewcastleGateshead surveys is that they ask leading questions. Of course everyone wants better choice and people want to own their own home. However if you live in an inner city choice is restricted by space and if you are on a low wage you might not be able to afford the home of your dreams. Aspirational questions are bound to get answers that support people's hopes and imply that housing renewal can deliver. Unfortunately housing renewal cannot deliver higher wages or low cost mortages so ultimately the process may build unrealistic expectations only to let people down.
Monday, April 17, 2006
Gone In 15 Minutes
In the movie "Gone in 60 seconds" Nicholas Cage was challenged to steal a series of high speed sports cars to order to save his brother. According to a local Stoke on Trent resident this challenge has re-emerged under a different guise for pathfinder councils.
It seems that a council surveyor can declare your home unihabitable in just 15 minutes. It seems that speed is of the essence under pathfinder but it seems as credible as that other government claim that Saddam Hussein could launch a nuclear missile in 45 minutes. However in the case of pathfinder householders Brian Clancy, past President of the Royal Institute of Structured Engineers, examined 17 homes in Stoke on Trent that had all been condemned in 15 minutes. Clancy's view was that all the homes were structurally sound but 10 could do with £5,000 modernisation work. One house, worth £60,000, could do with £10,000 spending on it.
Two Public Enquiries have now found against Pendle council for a similar trick in their area. The enquiry ordered Pendle to improve homes rather than demolish them. Meanwhile the council has engaged in another round of consulations as the area declines under the continuing threat of demolition.
Gateshead Council seems to be pulling the same stunt. With no evidence of unfit property in Saltwell and Bensham councillors are claiming that costs of up to £70,000 need to be spent on every home to get it up to standard. They claim that homes have been surveyed but few residents have seen anything except a few men with clipboards.
Meanwhile the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister claims vigorously that pathfinder is about renovation not demolition while at the same time local authorities are trying every trick in the book to increase the volume of demolitions.
Link: Article from Stoke on Trent
It seems that a council surveyor can declare your home unihabitable in just 15 minutes. It seems that speed is of the essence under pathfinder but it seems as credible as that other government claim that Saddam Hussein could launch a nuclear missile in 45 minutes. However in the case of pathfinder householders Brian Clancy, past President of the Royal Institute of Structured Engineers, examined 17 homes in Stoke on Trent that had all been condemned in 15 minutes. Clancy's view was that all the homes were structurally sound but 10 could do with £5,000 modernisation work. One house, worth £60,000, could do with £10,000 spending on it.
Two Public Enquiries have now found against Pendle council for a similar trick in their area. The enquiry ordered Pendle to improve homes rather than demolish them. Meanwhile the council has engaged in another round of consulations as the area declines under the continuing threat of demolition.
Gateshead Council seems to be pulling the same stunt. With no evidence of unfit property in Saltwell and Bensham councillors are claiming that costs of up to £70,000 need to be spent on every home to get it up to standard. They claim that homes have been surveyed but few residents have seen anything except a few men with clipboards.
Meanwhile the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister claims vigorously that pathfinder is about renovation not demolition while at the same time local authorities are trying every trick in the book to increase the volume of demolitions.
Link: Article from Stoke on Trent
Minister Identifies Housing As BNP Target Issue
The BBC are reporting comments made by Barking MP and Employment Minister Margaret Hodge regarding an expected surge in BNP support. (Link: BBC News) Hodge has said that the BNP could win many more council seats in her Barking constituency due to dis-satisfaction with Labour.
Of importance to residents in Saltwell and Bensham is the identification of housing, reported by the Sunday Telegraph, as a touchstone issue for Labour voters. As ordinary working people cannot get affordable homes they are attracted to the BNP's simple message that too many homes are being "given" to racial minorities rather than to the white British.
Gateshead Council have worried many residents that their proposals for the demolition of 440 homes in an area with average wages around £17,500 will leave people without affordable housing. The replacement "family homes" are expected to cost more than £160,000 - 10 times the average salary. In these circumstances the council may well have created a breeding ground for the BNP's political platform on housing.
Saltwell and Bensham Residents Association warned the council on a number of occasions that their "secret consultation" with the Jewish Community in Gateshead, without similar consultations for other faith groups, has left the council and (by extension) the Labour Party in the uneviable situation of being seen as favouring particular groups in the field of housing. The council's hysterical reponse of screaming "anti-semitism" when this danger was pointed out failed to address the facts when tackling the BNP propaganda.
Saltwell and Bensham Residents Association is a non-party political and an anti-racist organisation. The problem for the local Labour Party is that it reflects some of the concerns expressed by Mrs Hodge - ignoring core supporters needs and being perceived to have political favourites in housing policy. Let us all hope that a big vote for the BNP does not happen here.
Of importance to residents in Saltwell and Bensham is the identification of housing, reported by the Sunday Telegraph, as a touchstone issue for Labour voters. As ordinary working people cannot get affordable homes they are attracted to the BNP's simple message that too many homes are being "given" to racial minorities rather than to the white British.
Gateshead Council have worried many residents that their proposals for the demolition of 440 homes in an area with average wages around £17,500 will leave people without affordable housing. The replacement "family homes" are expected to cost more than £160,000 - 10 times the average salary. In these circumstances the council may well have created a breeding ground for the BNP's political platform on housing.
Saltwell and Bensham Residents Association warned the council on a number of occasions that their "secret consultation" with the Jewish Community in Gateshead, without similar consultations for other faith groups, has left the council and (by extension) the Labour Party in the uneviable situation of being seen as favouring particular groups in the field of housing. The council's hysterical reponse of screaming "anti-semitism" when this danger was pointed out failed to address the facts when tackling the BNP propaganda.
Saltwell and Bensham Residents Association is a non-party political and an anti-racist organisation. The problem for the local Labour Party is that it reflects some of the concerns expressed by Mrs Hodge - ignoring core supporters needs and being perceived to have political favourites in housing policy. Let us all hope that a big vote for the BNP does not happen here.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Cooper Approved Demolition Strategy
In Yvette Cooper's Gaurdian letter she gives the impression of being a Minister who cares about local communities and prefers rennovation to demolition.
Last year the Minister visited Gateshead and enthusiastically approved of Gateshead Council plans to demolish 440 homes in one ward. Despite representations from the 1,400 strong local residents association she did not want to meet independent representatives of local residents. Instead the council tried to hand pick some of the few local people who welcomed demolition.
Unfortunately a couple of local residents opposed to demolition got into the meeting. When they raised the question of rennovation over demolition the Minister carefully sidestepped the question and was bundled out of the room quickly. Thus avoiding the tricky political question of why developers and consultants are making a fortune while ordinary hard working families are being thrown out of their homes.
Link
Yvette Cooper's Letter to the Gaurdian
Last year the Minister visited Gateshead and enthusiastically approved of Gateshead Council plans to demolish 440 homes in one ward. Despite representations from the 1,400 strong local residents association she did not want to meet independent representatives of local residents. Instead the council tried to hand pick some of the few local people who welcomed demolition.
Unfortunately a couple of local residents opposed to demolition got into the meeting. When they raised the question of rennovation over demolition the Minister carefully sidestepped the question and was bundled out of the room quickly. Thus avoiding the tricky political question of why developers and consultants are making a fortune while ordinary hard working families are being thrown out of their homes.
Link
Yvette Cooper's Letter to the Gaurdian
Minster Yvette Cooper In Maths Confusion
Once again statistics and maths are causing confusion in the pathinfinder programme. In a letter to The Gaurdian newspaper the Minister in charge of pathfinder claimed that just 4,000 homes have been demolished under pathfinder. (Source: Gaurdian Letters 10th April 2006)
Meanwhile Gateshead Council proposes some 440 demolitions in Saltwell and Bensham, a small area of Gateshead. A quick calculation lacking the quality of rocket science would seem to indicate that 1 in 4 houses being demolished in the country is in Saltwell and Bensham - at least according to the Minister's optomistic patronising tone.
Gateshead Council is not limiting its strategy of mass demolition to Saltwell and Bensham. In papers presented before the full council in May 2005 the estimated demolitions in Gateshead was 3,600 in "Area Specific Plan". As a proportion of the 4,000 this indicates that 4 out of 5 demolitions are happening in Gateshead. Gateshead could become the demolition capital of Britain if the Minister's figures are taken at face value.
However read the exact words. She said:
"So far, the nine Housing Market Renewal programmes have knocked down 4,000 homes for replacement"
The key phrase is "so far". Not all nine projects have been running that long. Some only have "plans" for demolition. Some demolition is taking place outside the pathfinder programme. Some demolition is happening slowly so that councils can cash in with the massive land price rises. Some demolition isn't happening because of resident resistance to mass demolition.
In Saltwell and Besham the average price of homes scheduled for demolition is around £60,000. Taking account of pledges to fully compensate at market value and the cost of demolition the total cost will be more than £30 million. This leaves little in the kitty for regeneration.
Yvette Cooper is not really poor at maths she is simply economical with the truth. In the same letters page on 13th April a representative from SAVE Britain's Heritage challenged the Minister to contradict their figures of 168,000 demolitions nationally. (Source: Gaurdian 13th April 2006).
If we believe the Minister's figure of 4,000 demolitions as a final definitive number then Gateshead will become the demolition centre of Britain. More credible is that Gateshead is a small project in a mass demolition strategy that is now so embarrassing even the Minister wants to cover it up before local elections.
Links
Letter from Yvette Cooper
Letter from SAVE
Meanwhile Gateshead Council proposes some 440 demolitions in Saltwell and Bensham, a small area of Gateshead. A quick calculation lacking the quality of rocket science would seem to indicate that 1 in 4 houses being demolished in the country is in Saltwell and Bensham - at least according to the Minister's optomistic patronising tone.
Gateshead Council is not limiting its strategy of mass demolition to Saltwell and Bensham. In papers presented before the full council in May 2005 the estimated demolitions in Gateshead was 3,600 in "Area Specific Plan". As a proportion of the 4,000 this indicates that 4 out of 5 demolitions are happening in Gateshead. Gateshead could become the demolition capital of Britain if the Minister's figures are taken at face value.
However read the exact words. She said:
"So far, the nine Housing Market Renewal programmes have knocked down 4,000 homes for replacement"
The key phrase is "so far". Not all nine projects have been running that long. Some only have "plans" for demolition. Some demolition is taking place outside the pathfinder programme. Some demolition is happening slowly so that councils can cash in with the massive land price rises. Some demolition isn't happening because of resident resistance to mass demolition.
In Saltwell and Besham the average price of homes scheduled for demolition is around £60,000. Taking account of pledges to fully compensate at market value and the cost of demolition the total cost will be more than £30 million. This leaves little in the kitty for regeneration.
Yvette Cooper is not really poor at maths she is simply economical with the truth. In the same letters page on 13th April a representative from SAVE Britain's Heritage challenged the Minister to contradict their figures of 168,000 demolitions nationally. (Source: Gaurdian 13th April 2006).
If we believe the Minister's figure of 4,000 demolitions as a final definitive number then Gateshead will become the demolition centre of Britain. More credible is that Gateshead is a small project in a mass demolition strategy that is now so embarrassing even the Minister wants to cover it up before local elections.
Links
Letter from Yvette Cooper
Letter from SAVE
Monday, April 10, 2006
Five Candidates To Contest "Demolition Ward" in Local Elections
Voters in the Saltwell Ward of Gateshead face a choice of five candidates at the up and coming local elections. The five parties represented are; Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, BNP and an Independent Candidate.
Saltwell and Bensham Residents Association will be quizing candidates on their positions regarding the recently announced intention to demolish 440 homes in the area. We will be asking residents to question candidates on whether they support demolition.
Election Results In Gateshead:
Saltwell and Bensham Residents Association will be quizing candidates on their positions regarding the recently announced intention to demolish 440 homes in the area. We will be asking residents to question candidates on whether they support demolition.
Election Results In Gateshead:
Renovation not Demolition is saving communities
Saltwell and Bensham Residents Association have long made the case for revitalising older property while keeping the character of an area intact. In places like Manchester a massive demand for older property has followed refurbishment.
Read about Manchester's booming housing based on renovation.
Link: News.Telegraph
Read about Manchester's booming housing based on renovation.
Link: News.Telegraph
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