Southend Labour Party

Working hard for you

Councillor Gilbert concerned by Tory plans for Council housing

Labour Councillor Ian Gilbert (Victoria Ward) today (19 August) raised concerns over Conservative plans, both nationally and locally, regarding security of tenure for council house tenants. Councillor Gilbert raised four main issues.

• That before tenants are threatened with eviction the full circumstances of each case needs to be considered;
• That shuffling tenants from site to site prevents a community spirit from growing;
• That tenants who earn over a certain amount should not be automatically lose their council home;
• That Southend’s Conservatives should bear heavy responsibility for the limited council housing stock in Southend.

In the Echo he wrote:

“We certainly want to see the council's limited stock of housing put to its best use, but this should be done by the right incentives, not the threat of eviction. Councillors have already had to deal with cases where the resident has died and their surviving family member has been threatened with eviction because the house is 'under-occupied'. This is incredibly traumatic and not something we want to see happening more often.

Security of tenure is vital for building stronger and more stable communities. Conservatives want a 'big society' where everyone helps out in their local communities. How is that going to work for council tenants if they are going to be moved from place to place?

I'm especially worried by David Cameron's idea that council tenants who earn more money should lose their right to a council home. What could be a bigger disincentive to getting a job than knowing you and your family would have to move? Also, the inevitable consequence would be to concentrate those who can't or won't work for whatever reason into one place. A recipe for urban ghettos which would ultimately become problems for the whole area.

It's all very well Anna Waite complaining that we have no land left, but she's been part of the administration whilst enormous development has taken place in Southend. Who's fault is it if that development has been geared entirely towards developer's profits and not towards the interests of Southend people? There are still brownfield sites left in Southend, but until the Tories admit their mistakes and take a much tougher line with property developers, we won't address the problem.”