The Thompson family have now appeared in two lots of Council News and one edition of Great Places To Live. They are important to Gateshead Council's "selling" of demolition. They were tennants of Home Housing who were moved to a brand new house and were quoted liberally as being terribly grateful to Gateshead Council. We wish them lots of luck.
However the key phrase was "Home Housing". As a secure tennant they had rights. Not so other private tennants. When demolition was proposed the Council made a lot of noise about finding new homes for tennants and a £4,000 disturbance allowance. Among those on benefit living week by week on low government handouts a £4,000 cheque was a life changing sum of money. It was especially valuable since the council hinted at find people new homes in the area.
Unfortunately it never quite worked out like that. Mrs Thatcher's tennancy reforms in the 1980s provided that Short Hold Tenancy as the norm. This allows you to rent for up to 6 months and your landlord just has to give you one month's notice to leave. So in a money saving wheeze the men from the Council told landlords that they would only by their property without a tennant. So your average private tennant was given a month to leave, no help in finding a new home and obviously no disturbance payment. Once the tennant was gone the Council would then buy the property without any obligation to help the previous tennant. Job done.
Which explains the Thompsons. One of the small number of tennants with rights. Compelled by law to give them help the family is an ongoing photo opportunity. Private tennants haven't appeared in Council News because they have no rights and no help.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Latest Stats From BridgingNewcastleGateshead
These are the latest statistics published by BNG for the last 12 months;
Built 124 properties
Improved 1,623 properties
Demolished 289 properties
Acquired 3 hectares of land
We welcome the 1,623 improvements. Improvements are now catching up to demolitions when you take the last few years into account. BNG now have enough land in the west end of Newcastle to build 4,000 houses yet demolition is still exceeding building.
Just over a year ago BNG announced £64 million in funding. All this money has produced not 124 palaces worth £500,000 each but some average new build.
When MPs on the Public Accounts Committee recently labelled pathfinder a waste of money perhaps they had just 124 new houses on Tyneside after £64 million spent as an example.
Built 124 properties
Improved 1,623 properties
Demolished 289 properties
Acquired 3 hectares of land
We welcome the 1,623 improvements. Improvements are now catching up to demolitions when you take the last few years into account. BNG now have enough land in the west end of Newcastle to build 4,000 houses yet demolition is still exceeding building.
Just over a year ago BNG announced £64 million in funding. All this money has produced not 124 palaces worth £500,000 each but some average new build.
When MPs on the Public Accounts Committee recently labelled pathfinder a waste of money perhaps they had just 124 new houses on Tyneside after £64 million spent as an example.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Sticking It Where The Sun Doesn't Shine
Many people from outside Gateshead often ask us about why the Member of Parliament isn't backing residents against the threat of demolition. After all as well as the Public Accounts Committee condeming pathfinder last week the report from the National Audit Office also found Pathfinder a complete waste of money.
Other MPs have asked questions about Pathfinder in Parliament. Some are concerned that Pathfinder is run by undemocratic quangos. Some are concerned that Pathfinders are disproportionately interested in demolition.
David Clelland, the genuinely working class MP for Tynebridge, represents portions of Gateshead and Newcastle that have been levelled by the bulldozer. As the former Leader of Gateshead Council he sees his role as representing Gateshead Council in Parliament. He has never been known to criticise Gateshead Council. Nor does he feel any real need to criticise Government policy.
Recently when a constituent wrote to him suggesting he might take up an issue against Labour Party policy he told him; “I do not want your vote so you can stick it wherever best pleases you.”
As demolition is the central plank of Gateshead Council's regeneration policy the committee of Saltwell and Bensham Residents Association have felt that they would rather just be abused by the current council leadership rather than inviting other elected representatives to have a go at residents.
Link
The Times
Other MPs have asked questions about Pathfinder in Parliament. Some are concerned that Pathfinder is run by undemocratic quangos. Some are concerned that Pathfinders are disproportionately interested in demolition.
David Clelland, the genuinely working class MP for Tynebridge, represents portions of Gateshead and Newcastle that have been levelled by the bulldozer. As the former Leader of Gateshead Council he sees his role as representing Gateshead Council in Parliament. He has never been known to criticise Gateshead Council. Nor does he feel any real need to criticise Government policy.
Recently when a constituent wrote to him suggesting he might take up an issue against Labour Party policy he told him; “I do not want your vote so you can stick it wherever best pleases you.”
As demolition is the central plank of Gateshead Council's regeneration policy the committee of Saltwell and Bensham Residents Association have felt that they would rather just be abused by the current council leadership rather than inviting other elected representatives to have a go at residents.
Link
The Times
Different Council Same Tune
Everywhere there is a pathfinder project the same thing happens. Councils claim they consult, are doing the best thing for the communities, providing market value .. blah . .. blah...
All nine pathfinders are supposedly consulted but they all seem to get the same solution - more demolition.
The latest from Manchester is the Silverdale Chippy in Openshaw. A shop like many up and down the country being offered just £60,000 as the so called "market value". The business owner claims this hardly covers the cost of fittings.
Residents feel as though they are being forced out. Exactly the same picture we have here in Gateshead.
In a divide and rule tactic each council seems to label objectors as "usual suspects", "luddities" or just mad people who are fighting against their community.
The reverse is true. The councils are in a cosy relationship with their big business partners and care little for the communities they claim to represent but are instead simply trying to satisfy government criteria to get piles of cash flowing into their coffers.
No wonder people are cynical about politicians.
Link
Manchester Evening News
All nine pathfinders are supposedly consulted but they all seem to get the same solution - more demolition.
The latest from Manchester is the Silverdale Chippy in Openshaw. A shop like many up and down the country being offered just £60,000 as the so called "market value". The business owner claims this hardly covers the cost of fittings.
Residents feel as though they are being forced out. Exactly the same picture we have here in Gateshead.
In a divide and rule tactic each council seems to label objectors as "usual suspects", "luddities" or just mad people who are fighting against their community.
The reverse is true. The councils are in a cosy relationship with their big business partners and care little for the communities they claim to represent but are instead simply trying to satisfy government criteria to get piles of cash flowing into their coffers.
No wonder people are cynical about politicians.
Link
Manchester Evening News
Sunday, July 13, 2008
North East Housing Crash Deepens
The Newcastle Journal this week is reporting emergency plans to buy homes of people facing repossession in Newcastle and then rent them back to the original owners.
This plan is designed to avoid people losing their homes and depending on local authorities to find them accomodation. Of course councils no longer have any council houses having been told to sell them off or create arms length management companies. The Blair plan for housing was that private builders would fill the gap in "partnership" with government. This theory seemingly ignoring the fact that builders are there to make profits and not obey government policy.
The test is now arriving. Builders are making staff redundant, house building has stopped, house sales are in the doldrums. The partnership is now about government using taxpayers cash to save builders.
Meanwhile Northern Rock uses a whole day of court time each week in Newcastle to repossess homes as little as 2 months behind in payments. This despite government pleas for sympathetic hearings for those in debt - something Northern Rock, now owned by the government, seems to have forgotten.
Meanwhile BridgingNewcastleGateshead continues with it's lunatic demolition programme as if there was an oversupply of housing.
This plan is designed to avoid people losing their homes and depending on local authorities to find them accomodation. Of course councils no longer have any council houses having been told to sell them off or create arms length management companies. The Blair plan for housing was that private builders would fill the gap in "partnership" with government. This theory seemingly ignoring the fact that builders are there to make profits and not obey government policy.
The test is now arriving. Builders are making staff redundant, house building has stopped, house sales are in the doldrums. The partnership is now about government using taxpayers cash to save builders.
Meanwhile Northern Rock uses a whole day of court time each week in Newcastle to repossess homes as little as 2 months behind in payments. This despite government pleas for sympathetic hearings for those in debt - something Northern Rock, now owned by the government, seems to have forgotten.
Meanwhile BridgingNewcastleGateshead continues with it's lunatic demolition programme as if there was an oversupply of housing.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Armstrong St Subject of Ironic Poster
Just when residents thought Gateshead Council no longer had a sense of humour they come up with this clever ploy to support their demolition efforts. In the middle of a street of boarded up houses, a problem created by Gateshead Council, they have a huge poster. It reads "creating a new community for new friendships".
Just a few metres from this post is a a family with young children living in terror from the building site around them. The poster is an ironic reminder of the community that used to exist before Gateshead Council were offered millions of pounds for demolition and the prospect of making millions more by selling to property developers.
If the poster was meant to be a serious declaration of policy it falls far short of reality so it can only be assumed to be one officers view of black humour.
MPs Condem Demolitions As A Waste Of Money
This week the influential Public Accounts Committee condemed the government Pathfinder housing programme as much better at demolishing homes than building communities.
Labour MP for Newcastle Central Jim Cousins said: "The housing market renewal programmes have been a spectacular waste of money". The committee came to the conclusion that "it was difficult to determine if improvements in housing demand in pathfinder areas were due to the scheme or normal market operation".
This largely supports the view taken by the National Audit Office who reported last year. The NAO report report found that it was difficult to determine whether any benefit had occurred because of the expenditure on demolition.
The MPs views were not supported by Councillor John Shipley, Lib Dem Leader of Newcastle City Council. This may be because the Labour vote in Newcastle has been reduced in key wards where demolition has targetted the poor communities who are likely to vote Labour.
Meanwhile over in Gateshead the supporters of demolition are the Labour Leader and Deputy Leader of Gateshead Council along with Labour MP David Clelland. All of whom have become cheerleaders for mass demolition.
Thus where demolishing poor working class communities are concerned there is a bizarre Lib-Lab pact across Newcastle and Gateshead. Councillor Shipley must have an occasional smile when he reminds himself that Newcastle Labour Party were cheerleaders for demolition and destroyed their own electoral base.
Link
The Newcastle Journal
Labour MP for Newcastle Central Jim Cousins said: "The housing market renewal programmes have been a spectacular waste of money". The committee came to the conclusion that "it was difficult to determine if improvements in housing demand in pathfinder areas were due to the scheme or normal market operation".
This largely supports the view taken by the National Audit Office who reported last year. The NAO report report found that it was difficult to determine whether any benefit had occurred because of the expenditure on demolition.
The MPs views were not supported by Councillor John Shipley, Lib Dem Leader of Newcastle City Council. This may be because the Labour vote in Newcastle has been reduced in key wards where demolition has targetted the poor communities who are likely to vote Labour.
Meanwhile over in Gateshead the supporters of demolition are the Labour Leader and Deputy Leader of Gateshead Council along with Labour MP David Clelland. All of whom have become cheerleaders for mass demolition.
Thus where demolishing poor working class communities are concerned there is a bizarre Lib-Lab pact across Newcastle and Gateshead. Councillor Shipley must have an occasional smile when he reminds himself that Newcastle Labour Party were cheerleaders for demolition and destroyed their own electoral base.
Link
The Newcastle Journal
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Tuc Says Poor Housing Is Affecting Workplaces
A report this week from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) highlights the importance of adequate housing for Britain's workforce.
While Gateshead Council are concerned with luxury housing costing up to 10 times the average Tyneside salary the TUC report, Fair Homes: Building a New Deal for Housing, says that as falling house prices could see the private sector cutting back on the number of new homes it releases onto the market, the public sector will need to step into the breach and provide more social homes.
In the absence of a proper social housing strategy local authorities have relied on the private sector as if they (the builders) were part of social services. In fact today's news that Taylor Wimpey, Britain's largest house builder, has been caught out by falling values in it's massive "land bank" shows that developers were carefully maintaining a shortage of housing to boost profit. The report highlights this by saying;
"it is no good building new homes if young workers cannot afford to buy them"
Which leads us back to the bizarre demolition of homes in Saltwell and Bensham. The current plan is to grass over the demolished homes. Presumably in a speculative bid to wait for land prices to rise an make a profit. The TUC seem to say Gateshead should be building and not demolishing.
Link
TUC Housing Report
While Gateshead Council are concerned with luxury housing costing up to 10 times the average Tyneside salary the TUC report, Fair Homes: Building a New Deal for Housing, says that as falling house prices could see the private sector cutting back on the number of new homes it releases onto the market, the public sector will need to step into the breach and provide more social homes.
In the absence of a proper social housing strategy local authorities have relied on the private sector as if they (the builders) were part of social services. In fact today's news that Taylor Wimpey, Britain's largest house builder, has been caught out by falling values in it's massive "land bank" shows that developers were carefully maintaining a shortage of housing to boost profit. The report highlights this by saying;
"it is no good building new homes if young workers cannot afford to buy them"
Which leads us back to the bizarre demolition of homes in Saltwell and Bensham. The current plan is to grass over the demolished homes. Presumably in a speculative bid to wait for land prices to rise an make a profit. The TUC seem to say Gateshead should be building and not demolishing.
Link
TUC Housing Report
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