WEST Kensington tenants were angry that a ‘drop-in session’ hosted by Hammersmith and Fulham council on Thursday night was closed down early.
The premature closure of the meeting was made despite many residents anxious to hear the latest news in the Earls Court regeneration project.
The council has given the giant property company Capital and Counties (CapCo) the exclusive right to negotiate a land deal that would result in the destruction of 750 homes.
These homes on the West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates would be demolished to make way for Britain’s biggest regeneration project, bar the Olympic site, and would involve the building of 7,500 homes.
Only 1,300 of these homes would be ‘affordable’ and residents on the estates are concerned that the new homes promised by the council will be anything like as good as they have got now.
Planning permission has been granted for an area in nearby Seagrave Road for the construction of 800 homes of which 200 ‘affordable’ homes are to be dangled as a carrot to get residents from the West Kensington estate to sign up to the plan.
The Seagrave Road project will be a joint venture between CapCo and ‘Kwok Family Interests’, one of the wealthiest construction concerns in the world.
CapCo’s chief executive remarked: ‘It confirms our long-term view of the value which can be unlocked from Capco’s holdings in the area through a residential-led scheme.’
The estate residents were ushered out of the Holiday Inn Hotel where the ‘drop-in’ was held and gathered outside to discuss the campaign to keep their homes.
Sally Taylor, chair of the West Kensington Estate residents Association, told news line: ‘I’ve lived on the estate for 25 years and do not want to see my home demolished.
‘We have had demolition hanging over our heads for the last three years.
‘We have consistently been lied to by the council.
‘We have been denounced as a “sink estate” and called “ghetto of multiple social deprivation” by the council leader when we are a really friendly estate.
‘It’s all about big people – goliaths – playing with their lego models.
‘They have set up a steering committee with a £38,000 funding to promote this development whereas our tenants and residents association survives on next to nothing.’
Mohamud Awale, a tenant from the large Somali community on the estate, condemned the developers’ plans.
‘We are against the demolition, they have not guaranteed us to return to the area, they want us to move out of the borough.
‘They should respect the wishes of the tenants.’
Diana Belshaw, chair of the Gibbs Green TRA, said: ‘what has happened to free speech.
‘As soon as I went into the consultation it was cancelled!
‘The steering committee seems to be negotiating on behalf of the tenants but they do not have a mandate for that.
‘At least the Tenants and Residents Associations are elected bodies.’
Shirley Wiggins, vice-chair of the West Kensington TRA and a leaseholder, said: ‘We have been accused tonight of being “rent-a-mob”.
‘They just don’t want social housing people living on this land.
‘This is a really mixed community and many of the problems in the world are because people are not fortunate enough to live in a mixed community like ours.’
Tenant Rita Vlahopoulou insisted: ‘I’m fiercely opposed to the demolition.
‘Our estate is really good, we have no problems but what is happening now is disrupting our lives.
‘I feel the council is not listening to the residents.
‘Our campaign must be intensified and we will keep on fighting until we win.’
Another local resident, Linda Sanders, told news Line: ‘I have raised my family here for the last twelve years.
‘The developers are trying to divide our community and create bad feeling among the residents.
‘I’m ready to step up the campaign to keep my home – I’ve got too much to lose.’
Another tenant, Mr William, said: ‘I feel what this redevelopment is about is big business – they don’t care about tenants at all.
‘They will run out of money before they build anything and we will be left with nothing.’
Resident Godwin Charles said: ‘I totally disagree with the demolition.
‘We’ve had letters from the steering committee about once a month trying to convince us to agree.
‘We have to fight to defend our homes.’
A group of students from the London School of Economics who have been studying the Earls Court regeneration were also at the ‘drop-in’.
Carla and Aude spoke out. ‘We see this as an attempt to make money from an area which is close to the centre of London,’ they said.
‘We are learning about community involvement and see that the developers don’t want real community involvement, they just want a fake one.’
Significantly, the council has denied the residents of the two estates under threat of demolition with a ballot on their proposals.
In the latest ‘West Kensington and Gibbs Green Information Pack’ the council state: ‘After weighing up the options, the council has now reached a provisional view that including the estates in the wider plans by entering into a so-called “Conditional Land Sale Agreement” with EC Properties is in the best interests of local people.’
It is noted that they do not say it is in the best interests of the residents of the West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates!
This is supported by the recent resignation of Richard Osband as director of the residents’ steering company.
He has said that residents should stand together against it and that he was not supporting the inclusion of the two estates in the Earls Court redevelopment.