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‘Don’t repeat the same old mistakes’

Ava Soe and Emma Mountford
21/ 7/2005

ANGRY residents descended on the Houses of Parliament this week to lobby politicians over plans to stop Housing Market Renewal funding.

Residents went to meet with Yvette Cooper MP, Minister for housing renewal, to argue over plans to stop improvement work on Langley.

Unfortunately, they couldn't meet her face to face as Parliamentary schedules were put back due to the death of Sir Edward Heath, but MP Jim Dobbin instead met her on the residents' behalf and presented a petition signed by more than 1,000 people.

The group are outraged over claims that HMR funding may be stopped on the estate forcing work on "boundary treatments", such as new walls, fences, drives and railings, to be discontinued.

It is believed the Audit Commission have decided not to spend anymore money because such improvement work is "cosmetic" rather than essential.

Trip organiser Carl Cooper, chairman of the Langley Tower Blocks Tenants Association, said: "As we understand it, there will be no more money forthcoming for boundary work. This means that in places such as Mosedale Road, Newton Crescent, Borrowdale Road and Searness Road, there will be no work done on walls, fences or perimeters.

"It seems as if the Audit Commission is saying the boundaries have been sorted enough now and it's time to move on.

"We've had all this so many times before - improvement programmes which haven't worked. What we want now is for the work on the estate to be sustainable, otherwise people will leave like they did before."

Mr Cooper, was joined by nine others on the trip, who represented tenants, residents and community centre users.

Mr Dobbin, said at the moment, I think the opinion is that with the work done on Langley there has been a degree of "over-planning" - going too far on things that aren't that fundamental. We will argue the opposite - that this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get it right.

"I have no doubt that the scheme will eventually be completed. The Government is not going to cut any money; it expects developers to work within the confines of the original budgets.

"So it's given the Audit Commission the job of trying to rationalise all the Housing Market Renewal schemes taking place throughout the country.

"But I want the estate to have the overall investment it requires. If the people involved don't make sure the estate is an attactive place to live, we will be back to square one.

"I'm going to put as much pressure on the government departments concerned to ensure that Langley gets what it needs."