Housing switch sweeteners cut

EXCLUSIVE By TED JEORY

The freehold on both Chrisp Street Market and Poplar's new Idea Store had been lined up to be given to a social landlord as sweeteners for the transfer of the Lansbury estate. But it is understood that the advice of Tower Hamlets council officers on the matter would be over-ruled by Labour politicians at last night's cabinet meeting (Weds).

The political move came after the Advertiser raised the issues with senior council leaders on Tuesday afternoon. However, the expected cabinet decision was likely to come as a blow to Poplar Harca housing association boss, Steve Stride, who helped raise £2million for the Idea Store and until Tuesday believed the deal was secure. Transferring the freehold, but not operational control, of the £5million library and the market would have smoothed through the final settlement of the Housing Choice process on the Lansbury estate. More than 800 tenants are set to switch to Harca after a majority of 87 voted in favour of transfer in December. Harca promised a five-year £16million revamp programme for all homes on the estate after council bosses claiming they could not afford repairs. But the leaked dossier reveals that the estate is so 'profitable', in terms of rents outweighing 30-year maintenance costs, Harca has been looking at paying a £4.4million transfer fee.

However, to keep the housing association happy, council officials were preparing to throw in sweeteners. As well as the two prize library and market square assets, these included:

• Some 60 other shops worth an estimated £5.75miflion and which earn the council almost £700,000 a year in rents
• Three community centres, including Trussler Hall, which the council says are worth £300,500
• Tne Town Hall's share of funds from right-to-buy properties for the next five years, apparently required by Harca to make its business plan 'viable'.

Mr Stride, himself a former Tower Hamlets Council housing boss, was adamant he would be getting the Idea Store and the Market Area.

He said that estate residents had been well aware of the Market Square issue because 'it was in the offer document and part of the transfer'

A Harca spokeswoman later retracted that statement.

But Mr Stride added:' We've got a vision for Chrisp Street to turn it into a successful shopping centre. We want to attract a wider and higher quality of shops, but also retain some of the stalls.'

No one at the Town Hall was able to comment on the commercial negotiations prior to the cabinet discussions.

However, Phil Sedler, of THACH, called for a suspension of the Lansbury process and an enquiry into the whole Housing Choice process.

'The council would have allowed this grand theft of public land and property if the Advertser had not exposed them', he said.

Tenants were told the council couldn't afford to invest anything. "Now we hear about these asset and hidden subsidies paid out to Harca at public expense. It shows the lies tenaqnts are subject to. In Lansbury this means the whole Housing Choice consultation was false. How much public land and assets have private housing companies taken in this way?".

The above appeared in the 9th March East London Advertiser.

It must be added that the Council themselves removed Flora Close from the original Lansbury 'constituency' and transferred it to another Housing organisation before vandalising all the properties to make them uninhabitable ready for their future demolition and for the subsequent redevelopment of the whole area into scores of new dwellings five stories high without any provision for car parkiung except for two disabled spaces.

Perhaps you'd like to reread your offer documents