Andrew Dismore

Dear editor,

 

There is a feeling of ‘déjà vu all over again’  in your story ‘residents feel short changed’ (14/1/16)  about  the Brent Cross/ Cricklewood scheme, which means leaseholders  will see their homes being subjected to forced compulsory purchase,  with compensation below  what  residents rightly believe their homes  to be  worth.

 

Last year, this is exactly what Barnet Council did  to leaseholders living on the West Hendon estate, who saw the compulsory purchase of their homes confirmed by the Government’s inspector, despite strong evidence that this was not in the public interest and that the homes were worth more than was on offer.

 

Conservative Barnet Council are more concerned about the sale of  new homes to buy to let landlords and overseas based  speculators buying off plan,  than they are about protecting the right to a home for existing and long standing local residents.

 

If they so wish, long standing existing residents should be able to stay on the ‘regenerated’ estates and should not be  priced out of the area due to inadequate compensation and/or  the high price of new homes which are not genuinely affordable and are priced beyond the means  of most local people.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Andrew Dismore

Labour London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden