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‘Cap private rents’, ‘License landlords’, ‘Stop buy-to-leave’
On Tuesday night, 10 November, more than 70 people, including councillors from Enfield, Islington and Barnet and housing campaigners, gathered at the Crown Moran Hotel in Cricklewood for a public meeting with a difference. Hosted by Barnet Alliance for Public Services, Our West Hendon, and Barnet Housing Action Group, ‘Public Housing in Barnet?’ dispensed with a panel of speakers and instead invited councillors and campaigners to start discussions with tenants and other residents about different approaches to solving the problems of public housing.
You can view the ‘harvest’ of ideas from this meeting here.
#barnethousing The 80+ people in the room have gathered into groups, discussing housing needs & possible solutions. pic.twitter.com/7vSUwjLq9f
— Donald Lyven (@barnet_rebel) November 10, 2014
In stark contrast to the way policies are planned in Barnet council by officers working on their own and public survey designed to allow only predetermined choices, here participants’ life experiences were shared and informed the two 40-minute discussion sessions, with everyone able to take part on an equal footing. Here, instead of offering only ways to cut the budget, people looked for and found a range of solutions, including keeping rents from continuing escalation, licensing landlords, stopping the sale of properties to be left empty until the owner can realize a profit on resale, promoting self-builds, requiring that any private development includes 40–50% social housing, and redefining ‘affordable’ housing so that it is really affordable by people on average income.
Further meetings to take these ideas to the next stage are being planned.
Some messages from the young artists facing eviction from their homes @OurWestHendon by @BarnetCouncil #housingday pic.twitter.com/yxJnLqn1WL
— BarnethousingAction (@BarnetHaction) November 10, 2014
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Barnet Housing Action Group:
BHAG and West Hendon desperately need volunteers to door knock with us at the flats where residents have been called to court for repossession order hearings - we believe that some still are not realising that they will be evicted (in march ) and that they need to get their written objections in before their court dates.
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Barnet Labour announce Commissioners for their Housing Commission
Barnet’s Labour councillors have announced the members of their Housing Commission .
The Commission will be Chaired by Nicky Gavron AM, Chair of the London Assembly Planning Committee, Labour spokesperson on planning and housing supply and member of the Housing Committee. Nicky has a long track record of developing housing policy at all levels of government, and was the first London statutory Deputy Mayor with responsibility for the London Plan.
The Commission is being launched at a public meeting next week at 7pm on Thursday 20 November, at the Crown Moran Hotel, Cricklewood Broadway, with Cllr Sarah Hayward, Leader of Camden Council as Guest Speaker. All members of the public are welcome.
More details here.
