On Twitter @LifeInKilburn suggested this was not the whole story:
St Raphael's redevelopment delayed. What the Leader doesn't tell you is that the GLA have changed their funding criteria and that they will not fund housing that replaces current housing, making the full redevelopment option not financially possible.
This was a point also made by St Raph's Community group LINK
Inside Housing LINK covered the GLAs change of policy in December 2020 and quoted Helen Evans of the G15 group of housing associations:
The new programme will mean that grant funding will only be available for additional homes in estate regeneration.
This is a big change from previous programmes, the extent to which it makes a difference will depend on how much the estate is being densified.
I believe estate regeneration, which already involves additional costs of demolition and loss of rental income, will become more expensive and unviable in some instances.
There may be some wriggle room for Brent Council and it could be that the delay is caused by protracted talks with the GLA. The GLA’s guidance states it will “consider funding these replacement homes in exceptional circumstances”, such as if homes have become “obsolete”. Does this apply to housing on St Raph's?
Inside Housing continued:
Guy Slocombe, chief investment officer at Hyde, said he hopes the regeneration rules are “a broad generalisation” and that “some of the homes that are being regenerated are being regenerated because they are no longer fit for purpose”.
He continued: “Hyde has experience of large-scale regeneration which involves replacing homes that would not meet the decent homes standards. I believe that grant should be provided to replace these homes and I hope that... regeneration projects will be considered on their own merit.
Alternative funding may also be being explored. This is what the GLA document, Homes for London - Affordable Homes Programme 2021-2026, LINK says:
Estate regeneration
The Affordable Homes Programme 2021-2026 provides funding for estate regeneration projects where the grant is used for additional homes. Funding will not be available for units that replace homes that have been, or will be, demolished.
Where homes have become obsolete the GLA will consider funding these replacement homes in exceptional circumstances, and only as part of a scheme that will increase the number of homes overall.
Where councils are unable to fund replacement homes within their own resources, the GLA will look to provide alternative funding. Investment partners seeking to undertake estate regeneration are encouraged to submit bids under this programme for units that will increase overall supply and to discuss additional requirements with GLA officers where further funding is required to support the replacement of homes that have been demolished.
12 comments:
My advice is, don't trust him.
Dear Councillor Butt,
Why don't you just leave us alone and stop trying to ruin our estate by your awful proposals that you know fulwell we disagree with.
Also, you independant advisors and commumity group - pull the other one. Speak to the resident groups we St Raphs residents have created.
In summary, GO AWAY AND LEAVE US ALONE.
Councillor Butt's comments in this video suggest that, whatever else happens, the "infill" development on land between the North Circular Road and the River Brent will be going ahead soon.
But that land is surely part of Brent River Park, which much time and effort has been spent on in the past 20 years as one of Brent's environmental improvements. As the Council's own website says, it is an important site for informal play, nature watching and dog walking (as well as being a green lung in a heavily built-up and busy traffic area).
One of the Brent River Park's aims has been to return the River Brent to a more natural state, and a feature of that natural state is that the proposed infill site is part of the River Brent's flood plain.
Brent is becoming more heavily developed, in areas such as Wembley Park, where the increased rainwater run-off will run into the Wealdstone Brook. This, in turn, flows into the River Brent just upstream of Brent River Park. At times of very heavy rainfall, which will increase with climate change, the flood plain will be flooded (that's why it is called a flood plain!).
Do Cllr. Butt, and the Council he leads, really want to build "infill" homes there?
Wot does it say about Brent Council when local people don't believe the leader???
Not to mention some of his own backbench councillors...
This comment was made on an earlier blog re St Raph's but possibly meant for this one: I agree 100%
There is that old office building i believe formerly called Unysis building. This has been deleralic, unused since I was born for just over 30yrs I have been told. Old delapilated buildings everywhere which could be retrofitted into homes for homeless people & homes for 'average wage earners' to be able to really afford to buy homes.ie £300,000 max selling price for 3/4 bedroom homes for families.
100max 1bedroom.
I live in St Raph's and am proud to show people where I live because we have open space no high-rise good community spirit despite them taking away everything our community centre, not empty our bins leave the road with pot holes all done dilberate for us to to get fed up and want to leave but the grass not always greener on the other side. So you are not going to drive me out of St Raphs Brent Council and Cllr Muhammed Butt
It's ludicrous that the old Sperry/Unisys site has been derelict for so long and shameful. Brent has the power to seize it.
Brent also doesn't know it's own estate assets. There's land in Neasden they deny owning.
I spent a lot of time on St Raphs back in 2010 and after. Lovely community, crapped on by Brent.
OMG You took my thoughts right out of my head. The old Unisys building been deleralic for since I was a kid
Its a crime to have such a building standing there empty for over 3 decades when there are so many homeless people & people in the housing waiting list. More so they want to ruin our lives on St raphs by knocking down our homes.
Brent go and retro fit that big old building. Tell the big fat money 💰 grabber private owners to get it retrofitted now. Oh maybe the council getting paid some taxes from them bucks in their pockets so they don't care.
Fed up, fed up, fed up, Don't want Redevelopment, Dont trust that Cllr Butt, Dont trust any of them. Don't keep putting our lives on hold, Just want to get on with my life. His putting me & my family in a great deal if stress. Can't sleep at night. He is a bully
Oh I absolutely agree with that comment 110%
Such a big horrible deleralic building that can be done up & used to house many
I don't, he's rude, aggressive and a damn right bully. How is he still a head councillor with this absurd behaviour. If he carried on the way he has been in a place of work he would be sacked by now. A petition started to get this man out out.
I believe so, Brent should have the power to seize it
St raph's 'lovely community, crapped on by Brent'
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