islington-news-knob

Publications by New Journal Enterprises

Home

Archive

Competition

Islington Tribune - by ROISIN GADELRAB
Published: 2 November 2007

Cllr Terry Stacy

Keep your hands off our homes, Ken told

Mayor accused of bid to grab control of housing

HOUSING chief Terry Stacy has vowed to fight Mayor of London Ken Livingstone’s plans to force Islington to share its housing with people from other boroughs.
But the mayor’s office has turned the tables on the Lib Dem councillor, accusing the Town Hall of “threatening local people’s chances of getting a new home” by being only one of two boroughs to refuse to sign up to Mr Livingstone’s housing supply target.
Cllr Stacy is anxious to protect the 625 new affordable homes being built in Islington over the next year against what he sees as the threat posed by proposals published in Mr Livingstone’s draft housing strategy.
The document, which is undergoing public consultation, includes plans to centralise London’s affordable housing allocation. Mr Livingstone wants the tenancies of all new affordable homes and 25 per cent of re-lets to be allocated by Capital Moves, a new London-wide service which he hopes will become the single access point for social rented and intermediate housing.
Cllr Stacy said: “This looks like yet more power over housing being taken from local people and centralised in the hands of one man. We have real concerns that this will reduce the accessibility of affordable housing in Islington to local residents. Why should local residents support housing developments if they know they won’t have access to those homes?”
He added: “Because of Ken’s ridiculous housing targets, Islington will lose out to less-well-performing boroughs under this scheme.
“In the last year this borough built more affordable housing than Camden, Haringey and Westminster combined. When the Labour administration in Haringey says ‘the homelessness of Haringey is London’s homelessness’, to me that sounds like an eager freeloader.”
A spokesman for the mayor said: “Cllr Stacy’s remarks are a distortion of the truth and directly against the interests of Islington residents seeking affordable homes.”
Under the mayor’s proposals Islington residents would be able to bid for tenancies of homes just across the borough boundary and farther afield, he added.
“This proposal will give no powers over allocations to the mayor,” the spokesman said. “In reality the shift in power is to local people, who will have a greater say over where they are housed.”
“As long as every borough delivers its share of affordable homes in line with the mayor’s housing supply targets and they all participate in Capital Moves, they all stand to gain more, not fewer, lettings for their residents.”

Comment on this article.
(You must supply your full name and email address for your comment to be published)

Name:

Email:

Comment:

Your Comments: