council housing

Glasgow: Demolition plans for former council housing

Two-thirds of Maryhill’s former council houses are to be torn down.

Glasgow Housing Association is set to demolish most of its flats in Maryhill over the next nine years.

The demolition decision was rubber stamped at an 11th February meeting of the GHA’s Local Housing Organisation committee in Maryhill – a group of selected local tenants.

Most of the cleared land will be sold to developers to build private houses for sale.

To be demolished:

Glasgow: Botany betrayed

architects plans given to tenants, but never acted on

The new Maryhill plan – new back and front door houses for half of the current tenants – is exactly what Botany tenants were told in 2001.

Fears are that the same story will be repeated again.

Six years on, after being moved out of their homes to temporary decants, there is still no sign of any social rented housing in the Botany. And the Botany tenants have now been told that even if they ever are let back in, it will only be to 4 storey closes, rather than the back and front doors they were promised.

The housing question

Introduction
For the vast majority of people living in a capitalist society housing is an ever-present concern.

Cologne: occupation of the Barmer Block housing estate, 2006 - Wildcat

Text published in Wildcat in summer 2006 reporting on the internal dynamics of a major housing estate occupation in Cologne in Spring 2006.

Cologne: 'Barmer Block' occupied. The feeling of great potential...
For over three months in the 'Barmer Block' housing estate an unusual squatting experiment took place.

Oldest council estate says no to private landlord

In 1900 the Boundary Estate, just north of Brick Lane in the Whitechapel area of east London, became Britain's first council estate and, following a vote last week, it will continue to be so for the forseeable future.

Last week the tenants of the Boundary and 3 other East End estates voted to reject the intense campaigning and enticements offered by vested interests to transfer their homes to a private Housing Association landlord. Despite a lack of investment in their homes due to funding cuts by central government, they chose to stay with Tower Hamlets Council as their landlord.

Stirling rejects stock transfer

Council tenants in Stirling have voted by a large majority to reject stock transfer to a not-for-profit company, Housing Stirling.

Despite a massive propaganda campaign by the Scottish Executive, Stirling Council and not-for-profit housing organisation Housing Stirling, tenants have overwhelmingly rejected the transfer of their homes out of council control.

Edinburgh council tenants fighting privatisation speak

Council tenants from Edinburgh speak about their recent victory against the sell-off of council housing, and the fight for more investment they still face.

Tenants, trade unionists and councillors from around the country were set to attend a mass lobby of parliament on Wednesday of this week to protest against the government’s policy of handing council homes to private companies.

The lobby was called by Defend Council Housing (DCH), a national coalition of housing campaigns.

Tower Hamlets strike over staff victimised for opposing stock transfer

Staff at Tower Hamlets council began a two day strike today after a housing campaigner lost her job after working for the council for 14 years.

There will be a picket of the council offices over the course of the two day strike in solidarity for Eileen Short, after her job 'ceased to exist' during a town hall reorganisation. Ms Short is also a council tenant and member of the national committee for Defend Council Housing.

Exposing John Prescott's housing policies

The office Of The Deputy Prime Minister (ODMP) laid down the Decent Homes Standards to improve social housing by 2010, therefore directly benefiting communities. The flip side to this is the destruction of communities in Co-op run social housing.

Councils are repossessing all their properties, effectively making Co-op tenants homeless. Traditional social housing stock is disappearing, Co-ops are facing critical times.