Preston Manor covenant costs approach half a million

Brent Council has incurred legal costs payable to Druces LLP of almost £170,000 including VAT and disbursements in the legal case over restrictive covenants at Preston Manor School an FoI request by Wembley Matters has discovered.

The covenants forbade any new school build on the land and residents had objected to plans for a new primary school on the site. After a risk assessment the council decided to go ahead anyway and seek a removal of the covenants at the Land Tribunal. Residents then objected to the removal of the covenants at  the Tribunal and a negotiated settlement is in process which if successful would remove the necessity of a hearing.

Druces was instructed by the school but the council agreed to indemnify the school's legal costs so that the borough's families and children could benefit from 'the new much needed school building'.

In addition the council's legal services have spent 142 hours on the case. The response states that officer time in other departments involved was not recorded.

The council refuse to give the compensation costs involved in settling the case quoting legal advice that the information is exempted from disclosure under section 42 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

In fact I revealed in a previous posting that according to a reliable source, residents had been offered £303,000 to settle their claim. LINK

This makes a total of £473,000 excluding the hours of officer time but this may not be the end of the matter. The council state:

If the matter is not concluded by negotiated settlement before the hearing, the Council will incur further legal costs and fees for the attendance of expert witness at the hearing.

The failure of Children and Families officers to exercise due diligence over the original proposal is proving very costly.

The full response to my FoI request can be found HERE

London needs a million new homes by 2021 research claims

This statement from London Councils shows the depth of London's housing crisis:

London's future prosperity is in doubt unless steps - such as lifting restrictions on councils borrowing against their assets - are taken to build nearly a million homes by 2021, a new analysis shows.

London Councils, which represents London’s 33 local authorities, has carried out a new analysis of Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and Greater London Authority (GLA) official housing statistics. The research reveals that:

• between 2011 and 2021, 526,000 new homes will need to be built in London just to keep up with new housing demand (London’s population is expected to increase by over one million in the next decade)
• only 250,000 homes will be built on current projections
• a further 283,000 homes will also need to be built to along with the 526,000 on current supply levels to meet both new demand and the backlog of housing need in London
• in total, 809,000 homes are needed by 2021 to meet new housing need as well as the backlog of housing need.

Current housing supply levels suggest that there will be a deficit of 559,000 homes by 2021 – which even when excluding factors such as overcrowding still amounts to 329,000 fewer homes than London will require. This will put London’s future status as a global city at risk while adding huge pressures to government and individuals’ budgets.

Mayor Sir Steve Bullock, London Councils’ Executive Member for Housing, said: “The news that London needs almost a million homes by 2021 is a scandal - the last time we faced such an acute housing supply crisis was after the Second World War. This is a long time coming and the capital’s future prosperity is on the line.”

“Rising housing costs are not only a problem for those struggling to rent but for any Londoner wishing to buy their own home.  If the housing crisis is not solved, costs for the London economy will continue to spiral. More working families will struggle to rent and to buy, more people could be forced out of the capital and homelessness is very likely to go up.”

London Councils’ discussion paper, which was released ahead of the party conference season, sets out a range of policy solutions to boost housing supply. This includes lifting the “Housing Borrowing Cap” which prevents councils investing in housing – a move supported by the wider housing and property sector .
Other policies include increasing investment in the rental sector, supporting smaller scale builders, and promoting sustainable development near London’s tube and rail network. 

The report estimates 134,000 homes could be built if all these measures and others were taken forward.

Mayor Sir Steve Bullock added: “With London’s population expected to top nine million by 2021, we need to use the party conference season to explore the radical strategic steps needed to build almost a million homes - such as lifting unnecessary restrictions on councils borrowing to invest in new homes and helping small businesses win construction contracts.”

Greens urge Government rethink on poorly funded Green Deal

The Green Party has criticised the government’s failure to implement the Green Deal with the required funding.

Nearly 1,800 jobs have been lost and another 1,100 are in danger as a result of the government’s inability to put energy efficiency policies into practise. The current insulation scheme ended a fortnight ago, and the replacement, which is funded by the Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation, will not be properly funded for several months.

Councillor Andrew Cooper, Green Party energy spokesperson and chair of the Association of Green Party Councillors, said: “It is bizarre that the government's Green Deal is seeing a fall in the number of homes insulated and people employed in the insulation industry.” 

"Getting schemes wrong in this way is bad for the economy, doesn't tackle fuel poverty and shows a lack of urgency around the need to reduce carbon emissions.

“A positive, large-scale energy efficiency programme would generate huge energy savings which would see more money invested in the local economy, reducing peoples’ outgoings and seeing thousands in work, not to mention all the health benefits.

“The Green Party has been at the forefront of the most successful energy efficiency schemes in the country with thousands of homes insulated in schemes initiated and promoted by Green Party Councillors.

“In Kirklees the free insulation scheme that was carried out between 2007 and 2010 saw over 50,000 homes insulated and over £3million saved off peoples’ fuel bills. DECC’s own figures shows that this Green Party Initiative is the most successful in the country.

“Government should listen to the energy efficiency industry and have a major rethink about the Green Deal before it inevitably fails.”

Penny Kemp, Environment Spokesperson, said: "Failure by this Government to act on energy efficiency means that fuel poverty will increase, jobs will be lost, and the cost to the NHS will be greater.”

“The Green Party scheme is a win-win scheme. Jobs are created, fuel poverty is reduced and most importantly of all, lives are saved due to better home insulation, which also saves the NHS the £850m it spends each year on treating illnesses related to cold homes.

“Today, the Met Office tells us that we are entering a very cold spell, and each year up to 20,000 people die needlessly because of hard to heat homes."