'Most expensive' council homes go under the hammer

Cllr John, we do not 'oppose every thing for the sake of it'. We always give good reasons why you shouldn't do some of the things you do, and it is our right to do so. I am really incensed by this comment and it confirms for me that you do not listen to the people who put you in the privilege position you currently hold.

I await the answer re the CASH!

EWJ1974 - you can see maps of the first and second batches of sites proposed for new council homes here:

http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/6383

http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/7150

Karen I wrote:

Cllr John, we do not 'oppose every thing for the sake of it'. We always give good reasons why you shouldn't do some of the things you do

OK then, Karen. Please can you lay out your good reasons in this particular instance why the council have not acted in the best interests of council tenants and those on council house waiting lists.

Astonishing where is £3m pounds going to build 12 houses in Southwark? Especially when you have deducted the auction fees, the advertising and now the security minders needed to get the squatters out.

I am astonished that a Labour run council is taking this stance but then you only have to consider all the plans for Blackfriars Road to make it anything but a developers paradise.

And a message to the Council leader. Isn't his comment rather in line with the Conservative Government that community doesn't matter one jot. It's all about the best going to who can afford it.

OK - let's just rehearse a couple of facts. Southwark is the largest council housing landlord in London - with 39,000 tenanted properties. We have committed to building 11,000 new council homes and plans are already in place to deliver the first 600. So we continue to be the largest council landlord in London and we have the plans to deliver the most new council homes of any council in the country - including all the other metropolitan cities.

At the Elephant & Castle we have taken the decision - which might annoy some, but is actually sensible - not to simply rebuild the Heygate Estate with the same problems which the Heygate experienced - but with a mix of housing. There will be 650 new affordable homes on the Heygate site and a total of 1650 affordable homes across the Elephant regeneration area - that's 600 more than were on the Heygate. So that's a net increase in affordable housing in that part of the borough.

The sale of Park Street - one property - will deliver 20 new council homes in Southwark. Those who object to the sale must explain to me why helping one household is preferable to helping 20 households find a home? Are the squatters who are currently in the property representing those 20 households? Their motives may be sincere, but they are hopelessly misguided.

As I said previously, we could sit back as a council and oppose development and regeneration in the borough. It would still happen, but our ability to influence it and the outcomes it brings would be much reduced. I think it is more sensible for us to maximise the opportunities for Southwark residents which come from these developments - the jobs, the homes and the contribution to our public spaces. This is not a Conservative view - it is a Labour view of maximising the opportunities for all of our residents, not just the privileged few who have homes and jobs at the moment. Community matters - that is what we are building. But I will never advocate the idea that community can only exist if there is no change to the physical environment.

[Astonishing where is £3m pounds going to build 12 houses in Southwark?]

on land southwark already own. There really is no argument in this particular case.

talking about money, heygate could've been refurbished for £14,000 per flat. that's considerably less than £150K per one out of the 20 new council homes.
and that's literally just for starters. the arguments about not wanting change etc are so tired and incredibly tiresome but hardly surprising.

Turtmcfly, the clue is in your question. There are people on the council house waiting list. This was a house that could house some of them (reason one). If the council sells all its property in the 'expensive' areas it will be creating an area made up of one socio-economic group, and Cllr John said in his blurb above that he prefers a mix of housing (reason two). LBS plan to build 11,000 homes (which is fantastic) and is building up quite a sum of money, however, unless it wants to build tower blocks it needs to hang on to more of its land. At this rate, the council will end up just building another Haygate somewhere further out in Southwark.

Cllr John, how many of the 1650 'affordable' homes at the E&C are going to be council owned and rented to people on the waiting list?

Somehow or other, probably because private rental is so high in London, we seem to resent anyone living in council flats at a reduced rent. And if that flat happens to be in a desirable area, the resentment seems overwhelming. Perhaps if the government put a cap on private rents, attitudes would change.

Cllr John,
You seem to be parroting Boris with your latest missive and pretending that your policies are labour policies. I am sure that Boris welcomes the theme "maximising the opportunities for Southwark residents which come from these developments - the jobs, the homes and the public spaces "

I cannot ignore your offensive and perjorative remark that those who have a home and a job are "the privileged few " and by inference do not care about the community. Because they know they are fortunate to be in that position they recognise that more needs to be done for those less fortunate than themselves and expect the council to do it. They certainly have more sense of community than those who do not have homes and jobs who know they have been let down by those in power.

Of course you will have been monitoring all these new developments and will know how many Southwark residents have managed to obtain regular employment within them such as The Shard, it would be interesting to see the breakdown of the staffing levels and how many are Southwark residents in actual numbers and percentages.

I would echo the point already made by Simon Hughes, a politician I have no time for, that Southwark Council seems to be ghettoising the area in the north of the borough by allowing so many private developments with no affordable housing on site and building affordable homes further south in the borough.

I am sure that you as one of "the priveleged few" who has a well paid job, paid for by the ratepayers, and a home do not want to distance yourself from the ordinary people so please listen to them, they are no more selfish than you and you might discover that they sincerely do have the good of the community at heart.