putting Aylesbury Tenants First
Welcome to our website, the place to go for the full facts about the Aylesbury regeneration - the Aylesbury Area Action (Demolition) Plan (known forthwith as the AAAP), and the place to see images of Aylesbury from the inside (see more pictures here soon)..
See also our mirror site at http://aylesburytenantsfirst.wordpress.com
Southwark's consultation literature and exhibitions have been giving out misleading information
Why "Aylesbury Tenants and Leaseholders First"? - because any regeneration plan must prioritise, defend and improve the quality of life of existing residents.
And this is the place to join our campaign to do just that. Future pie-in-the-sky must not be used as an excuse to neglect existing needs, with Aylesbury rental income funding improvements in other parts of the borough, whilst the AAAP is used to tick a box to show that "something is being done for the Aylesbury".
Why get involved now? The Council and NDC are pretending that we are all happy about demolition You can help us provide counter evidence - and keep up the pressure to make genuine resident involvement central to all decision making about our future.
mixed community
- teachers
- researchers
- IT systems analysts
- ex-professional boxer
- MA students
- musicians
- nurses
- nannies
- professional artists
Many owe their careers to having an affordable, spacious home this close to London
"Aylesbury Tenants and Leaseholders First" PR campaign
It is in the interests of all residents on the Aylesbury that there needs to be a radical re-appraisal of the value of where we live. (Were you aware that there was a recent NDC financed £24000 PR press campaign yet again branding us "The Estate from Hell") ( October 2008, in the Times and the Independent )
Our lived experience of crime on the Estate does not match the myth - and this is borne out by the statistics. We need to counter these pernicious negative stereotypes. By listing and emphasising the many positive features of our homes that we now enjoy, and celebrating our diverse community, we strengthen our bargaining position. We are not going to be bullied into giving up good sound insulation, light, views and space because of exterior neglect and delays in re-housing growing families due to current housing scarcity.
(Did you see the 2 bed show-home? An enticing sample of future life in the Southwest Corner? It was smaller than existing Aylesbury 2 bed flats. The developers boasted that the rooms were as spacious, but corridors were narrower, exacerbating the problem of less storage space, and the loo was situated in the bathroom, not in a separate room. Yet it was considered as suitable for a family of four).
Democracy and CONsultation
How is it that the Council have been able to ignore the 2001 ballot against demolition? No 'consultation exercise' since has been able to rival this ballot for outreach. 76% of tenants responded, and the vote was 73% against demolition and to remain as Council Tenants (read more here soon on our investigation of the corrupt CONsultation process)
AAAP = 250 fewer family homes to rent. Although there will be 1450 more homes on the Aylesbury, there will be 700 fewer homes in total on this Estate for ordinary people to rent, and about 250 fewer family homes to rent. This net loss of social housing throughout the borough is masked by the use of the phrase 'affordable' to incorporate units that are for part-rent/part-buy - a mad misuse of language - and by the fact that the Council is not obliged to provide for anyone who does not have a secure tenancy.
The best, most practical, environmentally friendly, cost-effective, community empowering and health-giving solutions to the problems of the Aylesbury will not involve whole-scale demolition.
We believe that the reasons for wanting total demolition of the Aylesbury were political, not structural. We question the wisdom of any Council selling off its property assets - rather they should be enhancing them with investment and the best estate management. There should be a whole-scale block-by-block re-evaluation of structural soundness and financial viability of refurbishment.
petition demands
that Southwark Council, local M.P.s, the Government and Mayor Boris Johnson act to:
1
Recognise the whole-estate Demolition-Privatisation strategy is completely unrealistic in the new and profound financial crisis.
2
RESPECT the democratic Aylesbury ballot which voted overwhelmingly (73% majority in 2001) to keep the whole estate as Council housing.
3
STOP the whole-estate Demolition-Privatisation strategy and START proper repairs, maintenance & consideration of refurbishment NOW.
Yes, the estate is rundown...
But not so much that it is beyond repair and needs demolishing!
Feeling pressured because you need more space to meet your families needs? -
The AAAP will mean a net loss of social affordable rented accomodation throughout the borough to promote "more mixed communities". This is what is happening on both the Aylesbury and the Heygate. (read more here soon on the Heygate disaster..)
help us
Help us build a strong, united campaign to defend and extend social housing.
The best guarantee of lots of secure, genuinely affordable rented social housing will be to properly finance Council Housing - not mixed tenure Private/Housing Association developments - achievable if the Government honours its promise to change the finance rules to "create a level playing field" (read more here soon about the case for the financial viability of Council Housing, about how our rents are currently siphoned off - and links to the cross-party Defend Council Housing national campaign and latest parliamentary EDM)
