Gateshead Council headed for new lows in managing the Saltwell and Bensham pathfinder in the last fortnight despite a primary aim of pathfinder being improved management.
A local shopkeeper, recently moved by Gateshead Council, was told by her bank that an important letter had been sent to her old address. She contacted Gateshead Council to get her old key for a quick visit only to be told that they didn't have it. As a helpful reminder to Gateshead Council - we would wish to point out that keys were given to the officer in charge of flashy publicity David Franklin who recently had himself pictured in a high profile newsletter receiving the keys. Mr Franklin's interest on getting a positive spin for demolition is obviously a lot higher than looking after the keys to the property that Gateshead Council buys.
Meanwhile, in a case worthy of Inspector Clouseau, Gateshead Council have been celebrating Harry Potter by making whole houses disappear. A resident of McAdam Street was concerned that after a visit to a boarded up property council officials had left the door open and therefore exposed to criminals, druggies and the odd arsonist. Council officials were suspected because the property had been sold to the council, boarded up by council staff and the keys were used to gain entry. The police were called concerning the property and residents were told to call Gateshead Council. Gateshead Council said it was nothing to do with them as they didn't own it!
Late at night one resident managed to called Council Deputy Leader Ian Mearns who immediately sent round a joiner to make the property safe. At last some action. Unfortunately the house was boarded up with metal windows and the joiner could only make it a little harder for local criminals to force entry.
Dont worry the Ministry of Magic will not be needed to help Gateshead Council find out if the property it bought really belongs to them - just a local land registry search at £2.50. Meanwhile the residents believe this feigned incompetence is little more than another ploy to encourage blight and worry among residents so they volunteer their homes for purchase by demolition central at the Civic Centre.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
Out of Date Housing Policy
Gateshead Council plan to have their first street demolished by December 2007 and then, according to Civic Centre officials, it will be grassed over and left for at least 3 years.
Meanwhile the world outside Gateshead has moved on without the council knowing. The Government agenda is to build more houses just at the time Gateshead is demolishing houses. Gateshead has hundreds of people homeless and wants to reduce it housing by hundreds.
Of course grassing over some inner city land for 3 years will raise the price. The Council speculates on land prices, private builders cash in on cleared land and hard working families join Gateshead's homeless statistics. Meanwhile the Prime Minister wants to spend £8 billion building houses people can afford. Gateshead Council implementing last century's policy some ten years too late.
People would laugh if this ridiculous policy wasn't destroying lives!
Meanwhile the world outside Gateshead has moved on without the council knowing. The Government agenda is to build more houses just at the time Gateshead is demolishing houses. Gateshead has hundreds of people homeless and wants to reduce it housing by hundreds.
Of course grassing over some inner city land for 3 years will raise the price. The Council speculates on land prices, private builders cash in on cleared land and hard working families join Gateshead's homeless statistics. Meanwhile the Prime Minister wants to spend £8 billion building houses people can afford. Gateshead Council implementing last century's policy some ten years too late.
People would laugh if this ridiculous policy wasn't destroying lives!
Monday, July 16, 2007
Minister Accuses Lib-Dems of "Ethnic Cleansing" in Newcastle
Nick Brown, Member of Parliament for Newcastle East and Minister for the North, has accused Newcastle City Council of "ethnic cleansing" due to it's policy of demolition under the pathfinder programme. Mr Brown's comments come as mass demolition of structurally sound council houses in the east of the city is seen as a way of letting builders create luxury property and marinas for the well-off.
Newcastle is facing an increasing housing crisis as in the past it saw demolition as the answer to anti-social behaviour, economic regeneration and every other ill that was in the city. Demolition has cured none of those things. Instead issues of anti-social behaviour have just moved with people seeking a new place to live and economic regeneration has come with national policies on full employment not local housing decisions.
Mr Brown's complaint looks decidedly party political as across the river in Gateshead a Labour Council is, in the words of Mr Brown, "ethically cleansing" hard working families from homes around Saltwell Road. Both schemes rely on money from the undemocratic and unaccountable quango BridgingNewcastleGateshead and were concieved by former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. Both schemes will put millions of pounds into the hands of property developers and speculators.
The average salary in Tyne and Wear is around £17,500 and the so-called affordable homes will be between £60,000 and £120,000 at todays prices according to Councillor John Shipley in Newcastle. With housing prices rising at about 10% per year over recent years most working families will be priced out of the "affordable" range before the new houses are completed. This will leave houses for richer families who are more likely to be Lib-Dem voters. Good news for the Lib-Dem council in Newcastle who are literally using Government money to build homes for likely supporters. Bad news for the Labour Party on Tyneside. Pathfinder could be the best method of removing likely Labour voters on Tyneside. Perhaps another reason why Nick Brown has woken up to the threat of pathfinder.
Newcastle is facing an increasing housing crisis as in the past it saw demolition as the answer to anti-social behaviour, economic regeneration and every other ill that was in the city. Demolition has cured none of those things. Instead issues of anti-social behaviour have just moved with people seeking a new place to live and economic regeneration has come with national policies on full employment not local housing decisions.
Mr Brown's complaint looks decidedly party political as across the river in Gateshead a Labour Council is, in the words of Mr Brown, "ethically cleansing" hard working families from homes around Saltwell Road. Both schemes rely on money from the undemocratic and unaccountable quango BridgingNewcastleGateshead and were concieved by former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. Both schemes will put millions of pounds into the hands of property developers and speculators.
The average salary in Tyne and Wear is around £17,500 and the so-called affordable homes will be between £60,000 and £120,000 at todays prices according to Councillor John Shipley in Newcastle. With housing prices rising at about 10% per year over recent years most working families will be priced out of the "affordable" range before the new houses are completed. This will leave houses for richer families who are more likely to be Lib-Dem voters. Good news for the Lib-Dem council in Newcastle who are literally using Government money to build homes for likely supporters. Bad news for the Labour Party on Tyneside. Pathfinder could be the best method of removing likely Labour voters on Tyneside. Perhaps another reason why Nick Brown has woken up to the threat of pathfinder.
TGWU Calls for end to demolitions
At it's biennial national conference this month, The Transport and General Workers Union called for an end to the demolition of "structurally sound" homes and a fundamental review in the disgraced pathfinder programme.
Delegates heard speeches from both north and south of England that emphasised the need for construction rather than destruction.
The conference highlighted the fact that the main benefits of pathfinder were to help millionaire property developers add still more millions to their bulging wallets.
The Transport and General Workers Union is now part of Unite - a merger between Amicus and the TGWU. Members of both unions will be made aware of the policy to end pathfinder demolitions.
Delegates heard speeches from both north and south of England that emphasised the need for construction rather than destruction.
The conference highlighted the fact that the main benefits of pathfinder were to help millionaire property developers add still more millions to their bulging wallets.
The Transport and General Workers Union is now part of Unite - a merger between Amicus and the TGWU. Members of both unions will be made aware of the policy to end pathfinder demolitions.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Saving the planet means saving Gateshead's homes
From the very beginning of our campaign to save 440 homes in Gateshead we have had expert assistance. Professor David Byrne of the University of Durham has acted as a consultant to the campaign. Professor Byrne is an internationally known expert on redevelopment and a former Gateshead Councillor representing the area.
One question Prof. Byrne has asked, which we have repeated to Gateshead Council, is whether an environmental assessment was done on the demolition proposals. A simple question but one completely avoided by Gateshead's maverick demolition enthusiasts. Apart from the obvious environmental consequences of putting tonnes of dust and debris into the local area the wider problem is global. The production of bricks creates carbon emissions as does the energy of bulldozers and the whole process of building from new. Far fewer emissions come from renovation.
However the damage doesn't stop there. Recent surveys of new houses show that as many as 75% of them do not even reach the energy efficiency guidelines set down in the 1970s. No builder has ever been prosecuted for failing to meet these basic building regulations. The dirty secret of modern building is that one home is built to the required standard in a development. This is the sample that the local building inspectors see. A certificate is issued for all the homes on the assumption that they are all to standard. No inspector has the time or the inclination to even do a random sample. Few developments are even tested to see they meet energy efficiency standards. No tests are done for simple things like drafts or even holes in the wall.
So when Gateshead Council use the word NEW and imply that a higher standard has been reached they have absolutely no evidence to prove it nor is their inspection regime guaranteed to test for genuine improvement in standards.
In a world of climate change and reduced resources demolition of good solid homes makes little sense. To save the planet we need to save every community from senseless policies of demolition.
One question Prof. Byrne has asked, which we have repeated to Gateshead Council, is whether an environmental assessment was done on the demolition proposals. A simple question but one completely avoided by Gateshead's maverick demolition enthusiasts. Apart from the obvious environmental consequences of putting tonnes of dust and debris into the local area the wider problem is global. The production of bricks creates carbon emissions as does the energy of bulldozers and the whole process of building from new. Far fewer emissions come from renovation.
However the damage doesn't stop there. Recent surveys of new houses show that as many as 75% of them do not even reach the energy efficiency guidelines set down in the 1970s. No builder has ever been prosecuted for failing to meet these basic building regulations. The dirty secret of modern building is that one home is built to the required standard in a development. This is the sample that the local building inspectors see. A certificate is issued for all the homes on the assumption that they are all to standard. No inspector has the time or the inclination to even do a random sample. Few developments are even tested to see they meet energy efficiency standards. No tests are done for simple things like drafts or even holes in the wall.
So when Gateshead Council use the word NEW and imply that a higher standard has been reached they have absolutely no evidence to prove it nor is their inspection regime guaranteed to test for genuine improvement in standards.
In a world of climate change and reduced resources demolition of good solid homes makes little sense. To save the planet we need to save every community from senseless policies of demolition.
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