Industry Experts Deliver Open Letter To Prime Minister Urging Action Over Grenfell
Building and Fire Safety Industry experts have delivered an open letter to Prime Minister Theresa May, urging her to immediately change the law following the Grenfell tragedy. Dear Prime Minister, We are united by our resolve that a tragedy like Grenfell Tower must never happen again. Ten months on, we are deeply concerned that so little has been done to prevent another fire. High-rise and high-risk buildings such as schools, hospitals, care homes, sheltered housing and resid
Southwark’s social cleansing vehicle begins steamrolling through Peckham
Southwark Council’s social cleansing agenda is not just limited to council estates. Businesses in Peckham are undergoing closure and demolition too, as Southwark Council begin to clear local traders from the area ahead of their plans to regenerate the Peckham Rye train station and surrounding areas. Having spent ten years taking my two daughters to have their hair plaited at the Afro-Caribbean hairdresser shops on Blenheim Grove, today we arrive to find the parade of shops bo
The trouble with Sylvan Grove
Back in the Autumn, the former Director of Housing for Southwark Council, Gerri Scott (now resigned) announced at a meeting with Ledbury residents that the council would be purchasing a brand new block of 80 homes exclusively for Ledbury Estate residents, and these homes would be at council rents. The news was received by residents with rapturous applause. But where are we now with the promises that were made last year? After a long delay of more than 5 months in letting the
Ledbury Estate documentary released
‘Cracks In The System’ a non-profit documentary film about the Ledbury Estate, created by resident filmmaker Hannan Majid, along with Richard York of Rainbow Collective has been released and is now available to view here The film premiered at the East End Film Festival on 14th April, as part of the ‘Building A Movement’ event, also organised by Rainbow Collective. The event included several films about housing struggles, including Stop HDV, Grenfell, Balfron Tower and Cressin
Hustings held on Ledbury Estate
Ahead of the local elections on 3rd May, the Ledbury Tenants and Residents Association held a hustings at the Ledbury Estate focused on Ledbury issues. The hustings were attended by Cllr. Stephanie Cryan (Labour), Cllr Damian O’Brien (Liberal Democrats) and Eleanor Margolies (Green Party). The Conservative leader Cllr Michael Mitchell was invited, but claimed he was unable to find anyone within the party to attend. Residents raised questions relating to the higher rent prices
Southwark Council’s careless disregard on sharing information with residents
After holding back Type 4 Fire Risk Assessments from Ledbury residents for over 9 months, Southwark Council has come under pressure to explain why they had not shared them, after promising to do so, and blamed ‘an oversight’. In an email to Southwark Council staff, Ledbury Action Group quote a motion adopted by full council assembly on 12th July 2017 (below) which was passed unanimously and promised in sections 6 and 11 that information would be shared with residents as soon
Dame Judith Hackitt visits Ledbury Estate
On 9th April, Dame Judith Hackitt, who is leading an independent review into Building Regulations met with Ledbury Action Group members Glenn Holmes and Danielle Gregory at the Ledbury Estate’s Tenants hall.
Dame Hackitt had made reference to the Ledbury Estate in the opening foreword of her interim report here . Dame Hackitt and her team then visited the Ledbury Estate to meet with the Action Group to discuss the issues in greater detail and to hear evidence for the Tenants
Ledbury leaseholders offered new homes on shared equity
In March, the Ledbury Estate Director Mike Tyrell announced that Ledbury towers leaseholders would be offered flats on a shared equity basis at the nearby new build Sylvan Grove development, just off the Old Kent Road The development by Hyde homes of 3 blocks, comprising a combination of 80 flats and maisonettes were originally built for part shared ownership and part social housing. However, last year Southwark Council announced that they would be buying the entire developme
Other large panel estates being found to also be at risk
Following the discoveries by structural engineer firm ARUP during August 2017 that the four Ledbury Estate tower blocks do not meet the building regulations for being strong enough to withstand the force of a gas explosion, fire or extremely strong winds, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government wrote to other local authorities around the UK who own similar buildings asking them to carry out checks to ensure their buildings were not at risk. The findings of s
