Tag Archives: housing

Windmill View – Lambeth’s TRA of the month!

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The latest Tenants’ and Residents’ Association Newsletter from Lambeth Council’s Housing Department is out. It features news for TRAs and training offers, alongside the regular ‘TRA of the month’ feature. This month the featured TRA is Windmill View TRA, covering Loats Road, Bowater Close, Claudia Jones Way and some properties on Lyham Road.

One of our recently re-launched TRAs is Windmill View on Lyham Road, Brixton.

They’ve been meeting in the local youth club to get themselves re-registered and constituted. The following was taken from the chair of the TRA, Sonia Bailey, report to the AGM which we think encapsulates why TRAs remain fundamental to our engagement.

“We want to take the TRA forward fully membered and hope to attract persons who share our vision we have to ensure we maintain a community and environment where residents can live a clean, fear-free and safe life with respect for each other.”

The TRA have had their work cut out with major works and anti social behaviour issues which have been successfully resolved working with the Housing office and Police. The TRA are now looking to brighten up some of the play areas on the edge of the estate with a project involving the estate children.

Welcome back Windmill View!!

EVENT: The future of Clapham Park

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image003A series of drop-in sessions for residents this week showcases plans for the future of Clapham Park. Brixton Hill ward residents in area 3 on the map shown, including those in Kintyre Court and Kingswood Road, are invited to the session on Thursday 26 January on Kings Avenue.

Metropolitan Housing are reviewing the masterplan for Clapham Park to make sure it delivers what the local community needs today and into the future.

At these events Metropolitan want to talk in more detail about specific elements of the masterplan, including:

  • Landscape and open spaces (including play areas, public parks, private and communal outside areas)
  • Movement and parking (including parking, types of streets and how pedestrians, cyclists and cars get around)
  • Buildings and height
  • Use of land (including retail, recreational and community facilities)

The event for ‘Clapham Park East’, covering Brixton Hill ward, takes place in the marquee by the Community Resource Centre next to Sainsbury’s, Kings Avenue, SW4 on Thursday 26th January. Drop in any time between 2pm and 8pm.

Lib Peck’s statement on the Housing & Planning Bill

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Housing Bill banner

Ahead of this weekend’s ‘Kill the Housing Bill’ march from the Imperial War Museum to Westminster, Councillor Lib Peck has issued the following statement on the Housing and Planning Bill being considered by Parliament:

The Lambeth Labour Group of Councillors fully opposes the Tory Government’s Housing and Planning Bill.

Labour, locally and nationally, have been lobbying to try and make the bill less destructive. I gave evidence of the Bill’s damaging impact to Lambeth at a Parliamentary committee in November 2015, and together with Cllr Matthew Bennett (Cabinet Member for Housing) we have met with several government ministers, leading housing associations and the mayor of London to make our views known. Our views on the Bill have been set out clearly by Cllr Bennett here. We are also working with the other London councils to see how we can make the best  out of a very bad deal if the legislation goes through.

Housing is a top priority for Labour in Lambeth and London and we will continue to support constructive ways to improve provision across the region  and develop more affordable solutions. Locally in Lambeth Labour is spending £450 million bringing our council flats and houses up to the Lambeth Housing Standard. Thousands of homes are now in far better condition than when we took back the council from the Tories and Lib Dems nearly 10 years ago. We are also building 1,000 new council rent homes by 2018, a policy consistently opposed  by the Conservative and Green parties in Lambeth. Lambeth Labour has also done  a lot of work to support residents who have been badly affected by Tory  policies, like the bedroom tax, by supporting them to manage their finances  better, move into more suitable properties and find training and work.  Where Labour is in power, as it is at council level, I think you can see that we take action to support social housing and residents who live in it.  Unfortunately, it is the Tories who are in charge at London and national level and there they use their power to shift resources from the poorest to the richest. We all work extremely hard to put Labour in power at every level and when we succeed to use that power to benefit ordinary people, particularly those who need help to improve their own situation.

None of your Labour representatives want to see this kind of social division  and will continue to campaign and act to stop it – Where we can act to limit the impact on residents we will do so.

I will also ensure that details of your march are circulated amongst the Labour Group Members and further within the Labour movement.

Lib Peck,

Leader of Lambeth Council and Lambeth Labour Group

“Windmill View” residents’ association launched

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Claudia Jones Way roadsignCouncillors Adrian Garden and Martin Tiedemann were pleased to join residents of a Brixton Hill estate last night at the latest meeting of a new Tenants and Residents’ Association.

Windmill View TRA has been set up for the residents of Bowater Close, Claudia Jones Way, Loats Road and the council properties on Lyham Road. Among the issues discussed were flytipping and plans for the play area and park adjacent to the estate on Lyham Road.

The next meeting of the TRA will be in early December. More information can be received from windmillview@hotmail.com.

Millionnaire developer prosecuted for illegal conversion of house in Trent Road

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lexadonlogoLambeth Council has used the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) against a millionaire developer who illegally converted a house in Trent Road into flats without permission.

Jerrard Knight – who is included in the Sunday Times Rich List – and his company Lexadon Ltd, have been ordered to pay more than £175,000 after renting out a property as flats – despite having planning applications to do so repeatedly turned down by the council. Lexadon were previously behind the applications for apartments on Brixton Hill and Blenheim Gardens opposite the Windmill pub.

The case is just one of several planning enforcement cases in which Lambeth is using POCA legislation, which allows for the confiscation or recovery of the proceeds of criminal behaviour. Continue reading →

First AGM of the St Martin’s Tenants & Residents Association

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ChalliceWayResidents of the St Martin’s estate in Tulse Hill, which includes Challice Way in Brixton Hill ward, are holding the first AGM of their Tenants and Residents Association. The St Martin’s TRA AGM will be on Tuesday 30th September, 7pm to 9pm, at the St Martin’s Community Centre, Abbots Park.

At the meeting the TRA will elect its committee and give residents a chance to raise issues that Metropolitan Housing or other bodies should be dealing with. A full agenda is here.

Consultation meetings for tenants ahead of new kitchens and bathrooms

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Screenshot 2014-04-14 10.07.57Residents in the Central Area who will be receiving kitchen and bathroom improvements under the Lambeth Housing Standard this year (The LHS Year 3: 2014-2015) have been invited by Lambeth Living to drop-in sessions later this week to discuss the improvement works to bring homes up to the Standard. This includes improvements to kitchens, bathrooms and upgrades to the electrical wiring.

The estates receiving LHS works in 2014/15 are Argyll Court on New Park Road; Arlington Lodge on Brixton Hill; the Saxby Road Estate; and a number of street properties managed by Lambeth Living. Continue reading →

Blenheim Gardens RMO newsletter

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blenheimgardenslogoThe April newsletter from the Resident’s Management Organisation of the Blenheim Gardens estate is out.

Today (14th April) is the close of resident consultation on a Right to Transfer notice, which if sought would lead to a vote of residents as to whether to take their homes out of council ownership and transfer to another provider or become an independent housing scheme.

As part of our commitment to co-operative structures, Brixton Hill councillors have supported the work of the democratically elected RMO Board to find new ways to involve residents in running their estate, including stock transfer. We will respect the result of the consultation and any future vote but know that some residents have concerns about what stock transfer will mean to them. Please get in touch if you’d like us to take up any issues.