Hackney Council is tying to raise money by selling off its land from the borough’s council estates: they call this Estates Plus. Right now they have been trying to convince the residents of Frampton Park estate (just off Mare st) that the sale of five sites on the estate will lead to improvements and help with overcrowding. This includes green space, play areas and garages used by the residents. The land will be sold to housing associations, who will build and then sell and rent the flats they build.
Although there will be more low rent housing, which is much needed, it will be achieved by cramming more people into an overcrowded area.
Most of the residents don’t want the development; they don’t want to lose their green space and play grounds, when there aren’t enough places for kids to play already. One of the proposed buildings will be just yards from older peoples flats, on a piece of land kids use for football. The pensioners living in the flats would like to see a garden there, but instead they will have a multistory block towering over them.
Meanwhile across Hackney the council has sold off land that was and could be good alternative places for this social housing to be built. On Dalston Lane for instance, a row of Georgian houses with shop fronts were sold five years ago by the council to an off shore developer. They are protected and so could not be developed unless they were damaged and derelict. Since then the houses have been damaged by a series of fires, and some have been demolished. Those houses could be muti bedroom accommodation for Hackney’s overcrowded tenants and homeless families. Instead Hackney will let those buildings rot till they are developed into yuppie flats, while off the main streets the council estates are over developed.
This is making working class people bear the brunt of the housing crisis, and taking facilities away from those who need it most.
DEMONSTRATE at Hackney Town Hall! Say NO to selling off our land!
6-7pm Wednesday 23 July 2008
Although there will be more low rent housing, which is much needed, it will be achieved by cramming more people into an overcrowded area.
Most of the residents don’t want the development; they don’t want to lose their green space and play grounds, when there aren’t enough places for kids to play already. One of the proposed buildings will be just yards from older peoples flats, on a piece of land kids use for football. The pensioners living in the flats would like to see a garden there, but instead they will have a multistory block towering over them.
Meanwhile across Hackney the council has sold off land that was and could be good alternative places for this social housing to be built. On Dalston Lane for instance, a row of Georgian houses with shop fronts were sold five years ago by the council to an off shore developer. They are protected and so could not be developed unless they were damaged and derelict. Since then the houses have been damaged by a series of fires, and some have been demolished. Those houses could be muti bedroom accommodation for Hackney’s overcrowded tenants and homeless families. Instead Hackney will let those buildings rot till they are developed into yuppie flats, while off the main streets the council estates are over developed.
This is making working class people bear the brunt of the housing crisis, and taking facilities away from those who need it most.
DEMONSTRATE at Hackney Town Hall! Say NO to selling off our land!
6-7pm Wednesday 23 July 2008
