Call for tenants in 'sub-standard' homes to be given priority (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)
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Councillor John Hall in call over plans for 136 new homes in Windhill
10:18am Tuesday 28th June 2011 in Windhill
By Kathie Griffiths, T&A Reporter
Councillor John Hall
A councillor is seeking assurances that local residents in “sub-standard” homes will get priority when new ones are built on a deprived estate.
Windhill councillor John Hall said he welcomed the plans of Incommunities and developer Keepmoat Homes to build 136 new homes in the area.
But he warned there would be “fierce competition” from people living on the estate keen to upgrade.
Out of the 136 homes about only 30 will be run by Incommunities – the rest will be sold privately.
Coun Hall was speaking after Incommunities and Keepmoat Homes revealed more information about the homes they are set to build on three sites in the Westroyd and Woodend Crescent area.
Coun Hall (Lib Dem) said: “The new homes will be in great demand. There are a lot of people currently in less-salubrious homes who will want to be re-housed.
“People will want to know if they will be prioritised or what criteria there will be.”
Land at the Woodend Crescent site was once occupied by flats that were described as the worst in Bradford until they were bulldozed in 2005.
Coun Hall said: “The new properties will also help raise the tone of the area. We hope people will take pride in those new homes and look after them.”
At Wednesday’s Windhill and Wrose Neighbourhood Forum some residents also raised concerns about how “already stretched” police in the area will cope once the new hopes are built.
Ward councillor Susan Hinchliffe (Lab) said: “It’s common knowledge that resources are already stretched and people wanted to know what impact this would have but it seemed it wasn’t thought it would be a problem.”
Work is due to start at the beginning of 2012 with the first houses ready for occupation by 2015.
An Incommunities spokesman said: “We anticipate the affordable homes for Incommunities planned at Woodend will, on completion, be made available through our homes choice based lettings scheme and local people will be able to bid through this system.”
- Read the full story in Tuesday's T&A
Comments(5)
markhincks
says...
12:29pm Tue 28 Jun 11
Avro
says...
2:26pm Tue 28 Jun 11
I was shown an example last week of an Incommuities 3 bed house that was just 2yrs old, where the tenant for that period had moved on a week earlier.
The the interior was a cesspit of a mess only fit for pigs, door panels broken, walls gouged, crap plied all around the garden and 3ft high grass, generally uncared for could not give a toss!
Social Housing organisiations need to start 6 or 12 month individual checks on how tenants look after their property, otherwise the new social housing of today will very quickly turn into the cesspit's of yesterday; not all are like this I know, but the fact is that many are, simply have a drive around any social housing estate!
king keighley
says...
2:47pm Tue 28 Jun 11
Avro wrote:Couldn't agree more. Why should everyone suffer because of these people.
The problem is that there are those tenants out there who choose to live like pigs and have no respect for what is given to them, a new house to some of them is very quickly turned into the same cesspit they used to live in! I was shown an example last week of an Incommuities 3 bed house that was just 2yrs old, where the tenant for that period had moved on a week earlier. The the interior was a cesspit of a mess only fit for pigs, door panels broken, walls gouged, crap plied all around the garden and 3ft high grass, generally uncared for could not give a toss! Social Housing organisiations need to start 6 or 12 month individual checks on how tenants look after their property, otherwise the new social housing of today will very quickly turn into the cesspit's of yesterday; not all are like this I know, but the fact is that many are, simply have a drive around any social housing estate!
Apollo
says...
4:31pm Tue 28 Jun 11
Anyone daft enough to pay for one of the 106 will find out the true value when they come to re-sell. They will be facing negative equity very quickly.
eccythump says...
12:02pm Tue 28 Jun 11
This is just hearsay of course.