Tower Hamlets will be allocated only 27 out of the 675 socially rented homes in the East Village despite being in the midst of a housing crisis.
Isle of Dogs councillor Zara Davis, who discovered the figures after making a members enquiry to the council, told The Wharf she was “shocked” as Tower Hamlets residents were “promised a tangible legacy that benefits our community for years to come.”
A spokesperson for the Tower Hamlet’s Mayors office said: “Tower Hamlets has built more affordable homes than any other borough in the UK for the last two years and councillor Davis is being disingenuous with her figures.”
They also stated that Tower Hamlet’s allocation was the second largest following only Newham, the borough where the village is located.
A spokesperson for Triathlon Homes, the company that owns and manages 1,379 of 2,818 homes in the East Village, confirmed that Newham will receive over half of the social rented homes. The remaining 327 are to be split between Tower Hamlets, Hackney and the other host boroughs, the Greater London Authority and Triathlon Homes who will retain 152 homes to “assist in supporting local housing need.”
Residents across all east London boroughs including Tower Hamlets will be prioritised for an additional 704 shared-ownership and intermediate rent homes enabling “eligible people on a range of incomes to live a high quality life in East Village.”
The spokesperson continued: “The amount of social rented homes allocated to Tower Hamlets was decided by an existing agreement that’s in place for all Homes and Communities Agency funded homes in London.
“East London suffers some of the highest waiting lists in the country, so a lot more homes are of course needed. However the delivery of such a significant portion of high quality homes for people on a range of incomes is a step in the right direction.”
But many still consider the allocations inadequate. Councillor Abdal Ullah, Labour’s spokesperson for housing, said: “East Londoners were promised a fair share of the Olympic legacy but the decision to only make 27 of the park’s homes available for Tower Hamlets falls foul of this pledge.
“With housing such an important issue in the borough the Mayor of Tower Hamlets should have been championing our claim to these homes at every stage.”
“After losing the Olympic marathon and now this housing decision, people could be forgiven for asking what benefits the Mayor has actually managed to secure for our borough.”
The remaining 1,439 homes at East Village are managed by Get Living London and are available for private rental.
This post is courtesy of the EastLondonLines website.
This is a very one-sided article frankly. Many people I speak to don’t actually want to go and live in the Olympic Village in Newham – they would rather stay in Tower Hamlets. And please don’t forget Tower Hamlets this very summer won the award for delivering the MOST sustainable homes than any other borough in England, and given the focus on climate change/energy bills this needs coverage and recognition.(and I would also ask readers to look at the recent Russell Brand interview with Jeremy Paxman on YOUTUBE, which highlighted the important fact that our planet is being screwed up by big companies not taking the man-made environmental threat seriously)
Here is the other side of the housing story:
Tower Hamlets Council has won a national award for delivering more sustainable homes than any other council in England.
Awarded by the British Research Establishment, the award recognises the council’s achievements in delivering the highest number of homes that meet the Code for Sustainable Homes – a national standard established in 2007.
Designed to reduce carbon emissions and deliver more sustainable, higher quality homes, the code uses a rating system of one to six stars to measure the overall sustainability performance of a property.
Since 2007, Tower Hamlets Council has delivered nearly 3,000 homes which meet the code – more than any other council – and it requires all new properties to be built to achieve at least a four-star code rating.
Mayor Lutfur Rahman said: “This code helps ensure that we consider sustainability while delivering our commitment to building more affordable homes and improving the quality of housing for residents.”
Cllr Rabina Khan, cabinet member for housing, said: “Ensuring that new homes are sustainable – through good insulation, reduced energy and water use and responsibly sourced materials – ensures that we’re considering the environment as well as reducing the cost of running a home for residents.”
The code rates properties using a range of measures including energy use, natural light, sound insulation, pollution reduction, material selection, waste reduction and recycling, ecological impacts and water usage.
So readers of OurBow.com, please remember there are at least TWO sides to every story 🙂