People are going to shite all over this Donna woman but I totally understand where she's coming from, as harsh as it sounds.
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http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk...block-13234068
Emergency aside, basically she's raising the notion of paying a high price for a particular place to live when someone else is getting it for free.
Should social housing be provided in the more affluent and desireable areas? Must point out, I'm not advocating either way just raising the question.
People are going to shite all over this Donna woman but I totally understand where she's coming from, as harsh as it sounds.
Wonder how she'd feel if it was HER block that was burnt out and she had to live in a council block?
For too long the idea of 'mixed communities' meant nothing more than introducing owner occupied homes (through infill and sales) to popular Council estates. I always advocated the flip side of that - getting more Council homes into traditional owner occupied areas. I think it is the right and fair way to remove stigmatised ghettos and to ensure that there is equality of access to health and education.
The flats in this block that were bought by the City of London are now 'social housing' units. They don't have acccess to all the services that come with paying the service charge, but as many of the comments say below the story, there is every chance the Council tenants rehoused there after this appalling tragedy work as hard if not harder than the lucky residents who are now complaining.
We may be a country divided by poverty/wealth, gender, geography and age - but it doesn't have to be that way. It will be interesting to see how long the rehoused survivors of Grenfell continue to live alongside their new neighbours - or whether they will be forced or encouraged to move out after a 'decent interval'.
Of course she has a point, you must be blind to not be able to see it
New build estate have to have a certain % of " affordable housing " these days anyway
I find it crazy though, i know people will disagree with me, but hey ho
I Clean the show homes on a new build estate, the site is just finishing this month, anyways, prices start at just over £400 K, which isnt loose change
so you pay just under £400,000 for your new home, you are well pleased, its a cracking house, then at the rear of you ( a shared rear fence, which i can imagine Tommy, Tyson and Danny will be booting a football against not stop soon enough ) , you have social housing moving in at the same time as you, who arrive, the old washing machine doesnt work as they plug it in, it gets left on the driveway for 3 months, it is only moved ( to the front lawn ) when the old banger car breaks down and gets left on the drive on blocks while bloke of the house finds a mate down the boozer to fix it ( it'll be good for Tommy, Tyson and Danny to watch the geezer from the boozer work on the car, it might inspire them to want to be a mechanic every situation has a plus eh )
who does that situation please ? ? ? the new 400 K home owners ? ? ? the affordable home family who dont really care about much ? ?? or anyone ? ? ?
and before anyone says " that situation of the washing machine and car would never happen ", i have worked on council / housing association homes for years, it does happen
Why does Donna think it matters to anyone if she decides to move out or not?
I stopped listening at 00.36 because at 0.33 this exchange occurred.
Resident: "Our Council Tax bill is very, very high."
Presenter: "Oh, I know."
The truth is Kensington and Chelsea's Council Tax bands are very, very affordable.
Council tax rates for Borough of Kensington and Chelsea 2017/18
Band*2016/17 2017/18
A £695.20 £708.01
B £811.07 £826.01
C £926.93 £944.02
D £1,042.80 £1,062.02
Many years ago I bought a house on a well known private estate in Cardiff. All of the houses were privately owned until a few years later the City Council started buying up houses that came on the market in order to house "social" tenants. For me that is when my nightmare started. The "social" neighbours next door were a nightmare. Rowing throughout the day and night, loud music and kids running riot climbing all over my property and garden. When I asked politely if the music could be toned down I was told to F.... Off and to mind my own F...ing business. Once I told the kids that they might fall through my asbestos garage roof and the abuse I received was unmentionable. I had cars parked in my parking space directly outside my garage which leaked oil all over the place. Neighbours in the vicinity frequently told me that they were glad they did not live in my house and started to put up their own houses for sale to the Council as they were afraid the same would happen to them. Eventually I was forced out as I could not stand living there and got far less for my house than I was hoping. I can only speak from personal experience but since that time I have maintained that mixing social and private housing does not always work for reasons other than satisfying the politically correct.
https://www.kfh.co.uk/west-london/ke...gh/council-tax
Kensington & Chelsea is not run by the welsh Government.
If anyone thinks Kensington and Chelsea's Council Tax must be the cheapest in the UK then think again.
This is nearby Westminster's: https://www.westminster.gov.uk/counc...ands-and-rates
I think some credit should go to the decesion makers who provided these housing units at such short notice, at least they have a chance of a different life now away from those awful tower block environments, which originate from decades of housing demand within our major cities, because they experience very high levels of migration, both legally and illegally.
Councils in affluent areas such as Kensington and Westminster are able to raise more income than councils in less well off areas as we have in South Wales. Unfortunately, expenditure on social issues is higher in these less well off areas, so the poorer the area, the more likely it is that its residents will have higher council tax bills. This divide is likely to get worse when councils are allowed to keep all business rates, so monied areas, where more business flourish, will be even better off than areas that are more deprived, and where businesses are less likely to succeed.