‘HEYGATE estate – not for sale!’, ‘Keep council housing!’, ‘Regeneration bullies – out!’
Those were the chants of more than 20 tenants and trade unionists at a picket by the South-East London Council of Action, outside the tenants Annual General Meeting on the threatened Heygate Estate on Monday night.
Calling the picket, the Council of Action said: ‘Heygate Tenants and Residents Association have invited all local officials who have played a prominent role in trying to get you to quit your homes to their Annual General Meeting on October 20th.
‘Labour councillors, Liberal Democrats, the Tory Director of Housing, the Joint Partnership Team, housing officers and the project managers will all be there.
‘They are making one big push to get you to quit your home when you know they cannot guarantee you decent alternative accommodation.
‘Southwark Council sent out a letter on September 30th which has the nerve to offer you a “happiness project’’ to try and brainwash you into accepting what you find is unacceptable.
‘You don’t need “happiness projects’’, you need the security of keeping your own home, which many of you have lived in for years and spent a great deal of time and money improving.
‘The South-East London Council of Action says:
• ‘Halt all evictions!
• ‘Our estate must be repaired and refurbished, not demolished!
• ‘No sell-off of land to enrich speculators who deprive tenants of their future.
‘This council must be beaten! Don’t be bullied! Fight for your rights!’
John Adjara and Helen Mezgebe joined the picket and spoke to News Line before the tenants meeting began.
Helen said: ‘I’ve been living on the estate for six years.
‘We’re paying a lot of rent and we’re only temporary.
‘They want us to move out, but they’ve offered us nothing yet.
‘We need to give people security, keep council housing, build more of it, not knock it down.’
John added: ‘I want to say the same thing I’ve always said: Southwark Council are privateers.
‘They have created a housing shortage in Southwark.
‘We need to defend our homes.’
There was uproar before the meeting started when some residents were told they couldn’t come into the AGM.
Eventually, they were allowed into the meeting after they returned with proof that they lived on the estate.
Community police were posted at the door of the meeting hall and more later arrived to escort Tory councillor Kim Humphreys, Southwark Council’s director of housing, as he left the meeting.
Vally Wilson, secretary of the South-East London Council of Action, told News Line: ‘We’ve had a good day and it’s been a disgrace that they have stopped some tenants going in to make their protest.
‘Tenants are not happy they’re being thrown out of the estate.
‘Many tenants are refusing to move and that’s the reason there’s been a big turnout today, so they can make their protest in the tenants Annual General Meeting.
‘Tenants leaders need to stand up to the council leaders who are for privatisation and want to sell-off these estates.
‘Tenants are angry about losing their homes, about being evicted into private accommodation, into housing associations.
‘We are working with all the tenants and helping them as best we can against evictions.
‘We want to defend all the tenants who are under threat of eviction at the moment, who are fed up with being bullied into giving up their homes.
‘Our policies are straightforward. We want to help the tenants retain their council homes, their secure tenancies.
‘We want the estates to be improved so many desperate families can move back in who are on long waiting lists, desperate to get a council home.’
He added: ‘We need to keep up the pressure until the council abandons its plan of selling off these council homes to the private developers, and we will continue to keep up the pressure and protest and invite all council tenants to our next meeting on November 12. All welcome.’
Coming out of the meeting, Edward Martinson told News Line: ‘Kim Humphreys was just giving us a run-down about why people should be patient about the inadequate accommodation they’re being offered to move off the estate, and that in a few months’ time they hope that Spa estate in Bermondsey will be offered to tenants on the estate.
‘There was a lot of argument going on and opinions expressed by the tenants.
‘They were more than angry.
‘One lady has lived here for about 34 years and she gave a very good account of what is happening.
‘Tenants said they want to keep their homes, especially those in the maisonettes. There was nothing wrong with them.’
He added: ‘It was appalling that they tried to keep me out of the meeting.
‘I have lived on the estate for over 30 years.
‘I had to go back home and get identification to get into the meeting.
‘I think we need to elect a tenants leadership that stands up to the regeneration bullies.’
