The Big Bad Wolf Tries It On in Newham

housing crisis, , , , , , , ,

An Out of the Wood Work performance. 

Show with Focus E15 Housing Campaign

Figure 1 The story is evolved and rehearsed.

The Big Bad Wolf —a picture of local government bending over backwards to act in the interests of landlords and property developers — was seen skulking in Stratford Park in the late afternoon winter light. This formed our Christmas Talking Sculpture performance, made with the Focus E15 Housing Campaign for our final meeting of 2025.

Figure 2 The story is introduced with a background to the housing situation in Newham (analogue photo C. Walker)

Although street puppet traditions have dark roots*, in contemporary culture the word puppet tends to conjure images of glove puppets like Sooty and Sweep—and these small domestic monstrosities emerging form the woodwork are anything but.

Figure 3 The Market forces lurk around the park. Mark-It made from an old chair leg found in Bethnal Green. (analogue photo C. Walker)

Work on the performance began with a skeleton script, loosely based on The Three Little Pigs. The idea came from a dream described by one of the campaign members, and was then developed collectively, with people working with the campaign adding dialogue.

Figure 4 The Everyday Family, (left to right) Nelly Noogod, Ron, Johnny Sweet Apple, Stewart Wood, Moola and Susan Bright, lamp shade.

In this version, the Bad Wolf appears as the council, acting in the interests of a property developer. He arrives on a council housing estate and visits the overcrowded home of the Everyday Family, who are forced to pay inflated rents to Fleece Em and Bleedum estate agents, who bought up ex-council flats cheap to make loads, and loads of money!

Figure 5 The Bad Wolf a Bucket Head dictating who will go. (analogue photo C. Walker)

The Wolf tries three times to persuade the Everyday Family to agree to the complete regeneration of their estate—which would mean being relocated for the next fifty years outside London away from their support networks and jobs. These unscrupulous persuasion techniques happen in reality, as we saw on the Carpenters Estate. It was even more bizarre than we could have made up: people employed as clowns handing out chips to encourage residents to vote yes to demolish their estate, while the mayor walked around wearing a virtual reality helmet, showing what the new build would look like. More information here 

The way the work arrives, including the making and carving of the characters from reused furniture and domestic objects, reflects an interest in how domestic materials carry both the histories of those who lived with them and the labour that shaped them. Working with low-cost, scrap materials has also been influenced by my work with children.

Some of the characters form through conversation, sometimes even as jokes, with people in the campaign. As I carve them, we talk about what is emerging and adjustments are made. This way of working feels like a kind of collective dreaming; perhaps closer to the kinds of shared culture people had many years ago.

Figure 6 Left to right. Garyleena made from wood found in the Thames Near East London and Nelly Nogood are both known characters to campaign members with complex histories. (analogue photo C.Walker)

The characters increasingly seem to take on a life of their own. When people give them a voice it can feel like they are orchestrating the event, some of them have been around for 14 years and new ones have have joined like Susan Bright the lamp shade and the Bad Wolf Bucket Head created specifically for this event. Characters like Old Ron Barat, who never had a day off sick in his life, although it’s debatable how many of his fellow workers needed time off from the effects of working with him, have been around for seventeen years. He’s based on a man my dad used to work with at Delta Metals, who knew and had done almost everything (the O2 Dome is built on the site now). Many of us I’m sure, have known a Ron Barat, who, when you are at a low ebb, will tell you to get a proper job, or, if you do something musical with your mates, will say: “Anything but work.”

It is this sharing of stories that binds the work together and allows connections to form. Some of the more recent characters carry layered histories, built from stories shared by people involved in the housing campaign. Through this process, the puppets came to feel like a form of social glue, holding the work in place forming something like a collective dream. The actual performance took place in the park as we were locked out of the bowls club where it was due to take place. Although the final performance was difficult the whole experience was good and hopefully we can do something like it again. Information about previous performance here.

Alongside this were analogue photographs of the event, reminiscent of family holiday camp images by Catherine Walker, and additions of poetry and script (detailed below).

Here is the script we worked out written by the cast 
Andrew Cooper, Jamie Mills, (including final poem), Jasmin Stone, Paige Daines (Bad Wolf idea), Safia Stone, Judy Watchman, Janice Graham, Hannah Caller.

 The Big Bad Wolf Tries it on in Newham 

Intro 

Scene 1 

Narrator 

Include Hannah background to the housing situation. 

Then 

Here we have the Everyday family, in a nice warm but overcrowded ex council flat which they are having to pay a  huge rent to Fleece ‘Em an’ Cheetum properties which the council said was suitable.

Here we have Nelly Nogood who is the back bone of the household. (Answers) 

Her daughter Moola who at times is the milk of human kindness.

(Answers)

Uncle Ron well meaning but with the sensitivity of grade 6 sandpaper. 

(Answers)

His poetic friend Stewart who looks up to him.

(Answers)

And Great, great, uncle Johnny Sweet Apple 137 years old found whilst digging on an allotment.

(Answers)

Garyleena, Nellys good friend, with her green laser eyes 

Play starts –

A council flat with view from window. Shows children playing people doing hobbies etc

 ….Johnny Sweet Apple (ancient 132) , Nelly Nogood, Young Garyleena, Brian Sharp(20) , Moola , Susan Bright (lamp shade) Ron Barrat ( annoying old git) and his friend poetic friend who looks up to him Stuart 

Ron Barat -Nelly! Nelly! I can’t find any matching socks in my draw have YOU been taking them?

Throws all the socks on floor 

Nelly Nogood- You doughnut! Look at the mess! I’m just trying to go out with Garyleena down the spoons for curry night and you are distracting me because you cant put things away properly!

Moola- I like odd socks me. 

Garyleena- Come on Nelly let leave them to it other wise Johnny Sweet apple will start next.

Johnny sweet Apple snores so loud he wakes himself up As he snores he emits a characteristic jet of saliva.

Johnny Sweet Apple in a slow groan he sees and shows the bowls trophy he won in 1926

Johnny – OOH I remember that i do! Ha ha (Splatter Jet)  i got in the local paper those were the days, i used to go down the cake shop after all those mental excursions with the old wooden balls (lets a ball role) 

Moola- He he goes milking it again…..

Ron, Stewart start singing ‘Roll out the barrel, we’ll have a barrel of fun, Roll out the barrel, we’ve got the blues on the run!

Brian and Moola together -OMG that’s truly awful ! mum mum! Help! 

Garyleena and Nelly -We’re off! 

Scene 2 going to, in the pub and leaving 

Narrator

Here we see them in the pub and they meet a new friend, Sue Bright ….

Nelly and Garyleena Together Singing in the pub –

If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain 

If you think the landlords an ogre and you have have half a brain.

Come and Join our housing campaign! 2x (Second time Sue bright joins in.)

Sue Bright- Yes the rent and lack of repairs, I’m with L and Screw You and it’s hell ..(suddenly realising)Oh I didn’t realise it was so late!

Garyleena and Nelly together – We’re only round the corner come back with us, you can crash out on the sofa! 

Garilena: time to get home, fancy a night cap ladies?

Susan bright: We don’t need a nightcap, we need a rent cap, before my hat is my roof.

Scene 3 

Narrator

Oh my what’s that creature they got working for the housing office it looks like the Big ….Bad!……Wolf !!

the Bad Woof Appears . He changes the  window scene and the buildings and estate so the estate is emptied  of people and is covered in pound note signs

 Bad W -(Singing to Abba tune) full pelt singing (Diana Ross style) 

I Have a dream,  a dream of money!

A dream of money to make me feel real!

Money is my destination! 

It makes me feel so worth  while!

Pushin’ through my internal darkness,  you suckers can just get real!

He is accompanied the forces that drive him who alternate in snake like voices addressed to the audience-

E- Con- Money –   Eee Con Mon Nee Pro Tect the Rich . He’s Controlled by us……

Mark-It-   He’s controlled by us. Mark It , Mark It profits for the rich 

–(Mark-it who sniffs profit and people in the audience to  exploit  and E-con-money that snaps the deals) 

Scene 4

Narrator 

It’s early morning and Sue Bright is crashed out on sofa and the whole family and friends are asleep….

Oh my! …the wolf is at the door will they recognise it?

Bad W.. First knock Wakes Garyleena and Nelly who are hung over 

Hi suite is covered with an old jacket and he wears a baseball cap a wolf in sheep’s clothing 

KNOCK KNOCK 

Bad W Hey dudes i got some cool proposition for you just sign here. 

Reaction

-NO-

Comes again as council KNOCK KNOCK 

Bad W Hey dudes-Ok i work for the council but people are at the heart of everything we do. I used to hang out with people like you in the library before closed it. We will provide lin dancing classes if you let us develop this rotten estate.

Reaction

-Rotten Estate ! It’s you that Leased out the repairs to Bleed em and Fleece them! No! on your Bike!

Comes again as fully cooperate representative of the property developer company the council has set up. 

KNOCK KNOCK 

YOU have no choice but to sign it is in the small print which is in stone 

Moola- Not exactly the milk of human kindness is he?

Reaction

NO NO we going to stone wall you just wait and see 

Children and all sing whose afraid of the big bad wolf the big bad wolf wolf 

What we say is resist or resign, resist or resign. (Repeat)

They throw the net of collective action and solidarity over the Bad Woof. Johnny Sweet Apple covers him in saliva 

——————-

Final voice from the darkness 

It’s cold out here

It’s not getting wetter

The politicians 

Are not getting better 

I want to kick them in the bum

Everythime they say something dumb

Marks and Spencers sandwich platters

Whilst domestic violence 

Leaves us battered

Chats behind closed doors

Going nowhere just like before 

The kids from 2014

Are bigger now

Generations together fighting loud.
(poem J. Mills) 

END 

Figure 7Jamie Mills as the Wolf at the door

End Note

The idea of wood becoming animated like a puppet, with something inside the wood bringing it to life, is very ancient. Even today we speak of things “coming out of the woodwork.” In ancient myths we often find trees that think and feel – for example in ancient Celtic Culture the whispering or walking willow. Many cultures recognise the truth of our interdependence with nature and with each other. Recently, in Bolivia, rivers have even been granted legal rights*. 

Among the Yahgan people at the southern tip of South America there was a belief that forest spirits lived in gnarled ancient trees and stumps*. I mention this because many years ago I read about it and, in my memory, I confused the detail that young people would sometimes begin singing to the spirits that were believed to inhabit these trees.

More recently I came across a fascinating passage in Elisabeth Cameron’s book ‘Isn’t S/He a Doll?‘* which surveys the use of puppets and dolls across the African continent. In many folk puppet traditions, sculpture can be used both for storytelling and for play. There is also the striking idea that a figure made from dead material is moving towards life, while human bodies slowly move in the opposite direction. Through play, life is given to the sculpture rather than it remaining a dead thing displayed in a gallery. This idea made psychological sense to me. Apart from our connection to the cycles of nature, the objects around us in our homes, such as domestic timber, also products of past labour and the histories of the people who once had a living relationship with the home*. A house is not simply an object that is bought and sold. Decent housing for all is a major part of creating a decent world for everyone, because it supports both mental stability and a sense of connection.

*https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/apr/10/bolivia-enshrines-natural-worlds-rights
*Joseph Campbell The Mythology of the Great Hunt page 160
*Elisabeth Cameron Isn’t S/He a Doll, Play and Ritual in African Sculpture. Page 12
*Karl Marx, Capital, Volume One, Chapter 10. Labour creates value; past labour — “dead labour” — is a form of social interdependence capitalism encourages us to forget.

Report back on housing meeting at City Hall

Focus E15 Campaign, housing crisis, housing struggles, Newham council, racism, , ,

On Thursday 5 February, Focus E15 campaigners attended a housing meeting at City Hall. It was called ‘Regeneration or Displacement – Fighting London’s profit-driven estate demolition and gentrification’. It was organised by Zoë Garbett of the Green Party, as part of her work on the housing committee of the Greater London Assembly.

Zoe Garbett introduced the event and there were excellent speakers from three of the many housing campaigns present.

Andrea Gilbert from the Lesnes Estate in Thamesmead spoke of the need for collective action against demolition, to challenge the narrative, to tell our stories and not allow anything to happen quietly. She said ‘demolition is a political choice, not an inevitability.’

After she had finished, Imogen Tranchell from Friends of Shepherd’s Bush market spoke of the disgrace that councils leaders meet with developers but not with residents. She said we are witnessing the ‘corporate capture of democracy’. Andrea concluded that ‘housing is linked to everything and everything is linked to housing’.

Then Joseph Jones, from The London Tenants Federation (LTF), which has been part of the team setting up Estate Watch, spoke of the need to include the voice of tenants and that we must plan and organise together. He told us that housing is becoming unavailable to many in the city including the working class, people of colour and migrants. Jones was clear that both the Tories and Labour Party are part of a system that is destroying council housing. This is having severe impact on people’s health.

He finished with a very important question to the organisers of the meeting…. will the Green Party stay in touch and work to resolve these issue. We have published his speech in full below with his permission.

At the end of the meeting, Focus E15 campaign responded to a question about whether the London Mayor will protect communities by talking about the horrors of the Labour government at home and abroad. While this government continues to arm and fund the genocidal settler state of Israel to carry out the slaughter, land theft and home demolition in Gaza, there can be no guarantee that anyone is safe here.

Solidarity with all those fighting back for housing justice. Together we can win.

Educate! Agitate! Organise!
Fight this racist, capitalist, imperialist system.
Time to build a better world for everyone.

Joseph Jones from The London Tenants Federation speech to housing meeting at City Hall

We are a grass roots led organisation

  • We support tenants with their rights to secure, safe, well-maintained homes
  • We provide training, resources and information so tenants are empowered to question landlords from a position of knowledge or power and in 2020, in partnership with Just Space and academics, set up Estate Watch which provides detailed evidence since 1997 of the displacement of London council tenants and leaseholders through so called regeneration schemes.

One of the key tenets of LTF has been “a voice at the table for tenants
where decisions are made.”

The land our homes and communities live on, are now perceived as assets too valuable for us to live there. As Focus E15, the Aylesbury estate tenants, the Heygate estate tenants, and those who have experience of regeneration know; developers, big business, most political parties, the Mayor and our councils want us out. Rent rises in the form of service charges, rent increases called Rent Convergence and the Regeneration of estates, are all making London unaffordable for the working class, working poor, non-white and recently arrived people from former British controlled countries.

We need to stop this social cleansing from continuing.

There are a couple of things we need to do:

  1. We have to plan, to organise, to get heard and taken seriously.
  2. Support – we can’t do this alone. We don’t get heard without support from our neighbours, friends and like-minded organisations.

Council estates were the government answer to the terrible housing that the working class had to call home. There was a realisation that working class people needed decent modern homes. These were govt funded, council built homes. They were ambitious and experimental and in the main decent affordable well built homes. The Tory govt of the 80s and 90s changed this. They sold off council homes under the Right to Buy, encouraged HA’s to take over council housing stock and begun the introduction of the private market into council housing. New Labour in the 90s and 00s made matters worse with ALMOs and public private partnership
Then in 2010 came austerity, where money has been cut from housing, education, health, legal aid, disability services,…

Cross Subsidy Housing is not working, yet the latest govt initiative is to continue down this route.The building sector has approval to build multiple homes in London. They won’t build because the conditions to maximise their profits are not there. they don’t build for the need, they build for their greed.

So, when the current govt says what’s stopping you building they say: regulations relax regs and we’ll be able to build.
Regs = less profit.

Are the builders even building what Londoners need? They’re building luxury apartments 1&2 bed where we need more 3,4&5 bed homes. The Mayor knows this. There is this thing called the Strategic Housing Market Assessment which tells the Mayor what homes London needs and what is currently being built. The investment in cross subsidy housing isn’t building what we need. It is building what is profitable to the market. Our homes are now assets to be financialised. If that means moving us out so be it.

Haringey housing activist Paul Burnham has been researching how the stress of regeneration means people die sooner than should be the case.This winter, millions of households are forced to choose between heating and eating. People are made ill by damp and mould, or live in constant fear of rising rents or threats of eviction.

Housing injustice is making us sick.

Will the Greens do something other political parties will no longer do. Will they not just take away our ideas?
Will you work with us? Will you stay in touch and will provide support other than words?

Housing Justice for All! Free Palestine!

#housingcrisis, Focus E15 Campaign, housing struggles, intentional homelessness, racism, , , ,

On Saturday 7 June Focus E15 campaign is joining the Housing Bloc on the People’s
Assembly national demonstration, with a clear message Welfare not Warfare.

Join us!

Since our inception, Focus E15 has sought to draw international links between the struggle
for land and housing in London/Britain and struggles abroad.


Nowhere is this more significant than in the struggle against settler colonialism and Zionism
in Palestine, which has seen Israel’s ongoing genocidal campaign destroy or damage 92% of
homes in the Gaza strip (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, January
2025), as well as bomb hospitals, schools, universities and deliberately murder journalists,
paramedics, doctors, nurses, teachers, target civilians and, since 2 March, block all aid
entering Gaza, including food, water, fuel, in flagrant violation of international humanitarian
law.


Israeli occupation forces have also increased their repression in the West Bank, where over
40,000 people were displaced from their homes in the first two months of 2025 alone, while
house demolitions continue.


As a housing campaign based in Britain—the country responsible for the British Mandate in
Palestine and the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine— we recognise that the
political system that keeps families in Britain in slum housing is the same system that is
funding and arming the genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, through continued
financial, military, and political support for the Israeli state. The same shameless capitalist
and imperialist Labour Party we’ve opposed locally in Newham has revealed its true face in
government.


We cannot fight for housing justice in Britain in isolation, we are internationalists, who fight
racism at home and abroad.


We will continue to raise the Palestinian flag as we have done over the last 12 years. We
encourage all housing campaigners to do so as well.

Together we are stronger.


Victory to the resistance in Palestine – let’s Educate! Agitate! Organise! here in Britain!

Join us on Saturday 7 June, on the housing bloc, details here:
https://www.axethehousingact.org.uk/news/join-the-housing-and-planning-bloc-on-the-
peoples-assembly-demo-7-june/

Celebrating the women of Barking hotel/Lyon house Hotel on International Women’s Day 8 March 2025

housing crisis, , , , , , , ,

Social Cleansing, overcrowding, not safe or suitable for children! Newham council shame on you!

On Saturday 8 March, Focus E15 campaign held a speak-out outside Barking Hotel, used by Newham Council to house homeless families in emergency and temporary accommodation for months at a time. 

With the women from Barking Hotel (and its extension Lyon House Hotel just up the road) we handed out flowers and leaflets about the horrifying conditions residents are subjected to in this sham accommodation, which – adding insult to injury – is raking in thousands of pounds a month for private landlords. 

Many families are homeless as the result of Section 21 no fault eviction from the private rented sector, yet they are repeatedly told to look for housing in the private rented sector.

One resident showed us the breakdown of her monthly bill, almost £900 per month, including £9.24 per week for breakfast of which there is never enough and not what some families want for breakfast.

Brimstone House, 10 Victoria Street in Stratford, Newham, was previously used by Newham Council to house homeless families as emergency and temporary accommodation. Under pressure from residents and campaigns including Focus E15, Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz eventually moved families out of what was appalling conditions for children with overcrowding, bedsharing, no space for children to grow and develop, nor do homework or have space to play.

The Barking and Lyon House Hotels show us that Newham Labour Council has never stopped this abusive practice, continuing it out of borough, an additional difficulty for families sent away from their family members, friends and support networks, schools, nurseries and workplaces.

Barking Hotel and Lyon House Hotel conditions:

  • Families are living in cramped and overcrowded conditions – children sharing beds with parents, unsafe washing for babies and toddlers with only showers, no baths, unsafe heaters in rooms where the radiators don’t work, no storage facilities in many of the rooms (shelves or cupboards), some families with young children having to walk outside to get to the kitchen.
  • Lyon House Hotel is a building site out of sight at the back (as seen in the attached photos) where they are building more and more small rooms. 
  • There are over 25 families using a kitchen with three hob rings. 
  • There are no washing machines – one resident reports spending £25 per week on week on washing her and her son’s clothes at the launderette. 
  • Families are checked up on every week with an evening knock on their room door to prove they are there, with the fear of losing their accommodation if accused of staying out.  

Residents of Lyon House Hotel told us: 

“It feels like a prison.“

“The kitchen is small, it’s not easy, seriously not easy. We are tired. It’s not suitable for children.“

“I’m pregnant and also have a 13-year-old son and we sleep in one single bed. It’s not easy for me, I have to sleep on one side. I have let the council know and they said the officer is waiting to speak to their manager. So please, I need the council to look through my case for me urgently. It’s not easy for me and it’s not good for my health.“

Freedom of Information request result

Focus E15 campaign submitted a Freedom of Information request to Newham council about Barking Hotel/Lyon House Hotel. 

The response included:

  • When residents are offered Barking Hotel but are housed in Lyon House (which is down the road) they are told it’s an extension of Barking Hotel at the time of the offer.  Not the case from those we have spoken to.
  • On average, residents live in Barking Hotel for 188 days and in Lyon House for 102 days. Well over the time frame for emergency accommodation. 
  • Both buildings are owned by two private landlords: Ms Parisa Jahanpanah and Mr Ali Kadkhodayi-Kholghi. Payments from Newham council to house homeless residents are paid as a joint sum for Barking Hotel and Lyon House to these two landlords, registered as Hungerburger Ltd/Barking Hotel. From the response received, we have calculated that in December 2024, Newham council paid these private landlords in the region of £170,000, equating to over £2m a year. 

This accommodation is not safe or suitable for children.

Families need to be moved out urgently, to decent, secure, council/social housing in areas where they have support from family and friends, in the case of most people, this is back to Newham.

Public money is cascading into private pockets…this needs to be used to reopen and refurbish council homes!

Stop social cleansing! Shame on Newham Labour Council!

No more children in Barking Hotel or Lyon House Hotel!

Long-term, safe, secure, decent council/social housing for all families now!

The struggle for housing justice goes on!

*Join us for an open, public meeting on Sat 29 March 2025 at Sylvia’s Corner (97 Aldworth Rd,E15 4DN) at 2.30pm to hear more about the Barking Hotel fiasco and the financilisation of social housing *

Housing for all on International Women’s Day!

Focus E15 Campaign, gender, housing struggles, mothers, press release, statements, women

A home is more than just four walls – it’s a place of safety, stability, and joy. But a lot of women can’t find a decent, secure place to live. From domestic violence to economic inequality, women are disproportionately affected by precarious housing, evictions, and homelessness. Local councils are letting families down, shoving them into unsafe, overcrowded, and uninhabitable temporary accommodations. And mothers are forced to raise their children in places no one should be expected to live.

At Focus E15, we fight for housing justice because everyone deserves a safe, secure, and permanent home.

Why is housing a feminist issue?

1. Women face higher risks of homelessness and housing precarity
Women, especially single moms, abuse survivors, and migrants, are way more likely to end up without a home or living in sketchy housing. They’re the first to get hit when social housing and benefits get slashed.

2. Domestic violence is the leading cause of women’s homelessness
Domestic violence is a major reason why women become homeless. Housing policies often fail to offer safe and stable options, forcing women to choose between staying in an abusive situation or being left without a home.

3. The housing system is built on gendered economic inequality
The gender pay gap and the lack of affordable childcare push many women into precarious jobs, making it harder to afford stable housing. Women are also more likely to have insecure rental contracts, be pushed into informal housing situations, or experience discrimination when seeking a home.

4. Women in temporary accommodation are trapped in permanent uncertainty
Councils and landlords ignore urgent repairs, leaving families in homes with damp, mold, and pests. Parents have to watch as their kids get sick while the authorities make excuses and delay fixing things. The hotels, hostels, and shelters often don’t have privacy, safety, or stability. Many of them aren’t even suitable for families. Women have to deal with harassment, overcrowding, and having their freedom restricted. Mothers are forced to endure terrible conditions daily just because those in power refuse to act. 

5. Women’s struggles for housing justice shape resistance
And yet, women have played a vital role in global housing struggles—from the Glasgow Rent Strikes in 1915 to contemporary feminist movements worldwide. Women have long fought for their housing rights, creating mutual aid networks and building feminist infrastructures. And we’ll do it again.

What can we do?

·         EDUCATE – Know your rights. Speak to housing support groups and campaigns.

·         ORGANISE – Connect with other women facing similar challenges. Build collective power to demand change.

·         AGITATE – Take action! Join protests, challenge unjust housing policies, and fight for long-term homes.

A feminist approach to housing means recognising that secure homes are essential for dignity, equality, and freedom for all.

Join the fight with Focus E15 Campaign.

What to join our next housing action? Email:

focuse15london (at) gmail (dot) com

You can also follow the campaign on social media:

‘Speak out’ against overcrowding and damp held in Stratford Town hall foyer after campaigners are excluded from council meeting

housing crisis, , , ,

Campaigners accuse Newham Labour council of artificially reducing the capacity of the public gallery to not face criticism on housing or austerity cuts

On the evening of Thursday 27th March, Labour council led by Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz showed its true colours – excluding the public from the full council meeting – a meeting at which they set a budget that will mean millions of pounds of cuts in services in the borough.

Only 20 members of the public were allowed in and only if they had signed in in advance. No one present could tell us when and where this information was shared with the public in advance of the meeting. The reason they gave is that the room was too small.

Given the meeting was held in the main chamber (image below), with a 400 delegates standing/ 400 theatre style capacity (according to the council’s own website) it is laughable that campaigners were given this reason to exclude them from the meeting on account of 66 councilors and others functionaries and only 20 members of the public.

FE15 believes the reality is that Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz is scared of the Newham residents who want to hold her and the council to account. This includes residents who want answers to the housing crisis – damp and mouldy and overcrowded dangerous living conditions; those living in hotel hell as Newham sends families out of borough to hotels such as Barking Hotel. This is Brimstone House, Victoria Street conditions all over again.

Focus E15 campaign was ready with letters for the Mayor and clear messages about local housing. Instead of being able to hand these over in person, they have been emailed to the Mayor.

Having been excluded brave Focus E15 campaigners, including mothers and children, held a speak out in the lobby of the Stratford Old Town Hall.

We intend to return to council meetings until housing justice is done!

Down with Newham Labour Council and their shameful anti-democratic practices!

We will not be silenced

Housing justice for all!

Who can afford to be human?

housing crisis,

Toni Adscheid is an activist-academic who has just had a new paper published. When he was living in London he was a committed and enthusiastic member of Focus E15 campaign.

We are excited that his paper, written with the involvement of Focus E15 campaign and local residents, was published in January 2025 in the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research.

Who can afford to be human? Struggling for Affordable Housing in East London.

It is posted here with Toni’s permission.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-2427.13304

Banner in picture made by Andrew Cooper:

About (and contact)

COUNCIL HOUSING, NOT COUNCIL CLEANSING

#housingcrisis, class, social cleansing, , , , , ,

We want council rent housing, not council-led social cleansing

New report commissioned by Public Interest Law Centre and authored by Dr Joe Penny of UCL’s Urban Laboratory shows how government and council defined ‘Affordable housing’ drives up the cost of homes for working-class communities.

The report finds that estate regeneration projects which feature demolition routinely underproduce truly affordable* housing for those on low incomes, and increase rents of council and social housing by an average of more than £80 per week.  It reveals that the unaffordability of “affordable” housing options, replacing council-rent homes after estate demolition, is worsening the housing crisis for working-class Londoners.  At the same time, councils are playing ‘property developer’ driving forward gentrification. Therefore the call for ‘council housing, not council cleansing’ is arguably more fitting today than ‘social housing, not social cleansing’.

*Truly affordable housing is the term benchmarked in the report using the UN-Habitat’s definition of affordability: rent that costs no more than 30% of a household’s total monthly income. The report found that for some tenures on redeveloped sites, so-called “affordable” rent could be as high as 76% of a household’s income.

Main findings of the report

The report studies six of the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ regeneration projects across three London Boroughs including the Aylesbury Estate and the Heygate Estate.

It considered three different models of cross-subsidy estate regeneration: developer-led approach, local-housing company approach, and council-led approach.

Across all three cross-subsidy models in the report:

  • The loss of social and council housing and the displacement of low-income working-class tenants are embedded features of regeneration projects that involve demolition
  • All underproduce the housing that Londoners need the most (council rent and social rent)
  • All overproduce the type of housing London has the least need for (market sale and rent)
  • The total number of council and social housing was reduced by all but one of the regeneration projects
  • Demolition and redevelopment of council estates increases the rents of council and social housing by more than £80 per week on average
  • 23,551 new homes have been or are expected to be delivered by 2035
  • 8,629 council rented homes have been or will be demolished across the six cases
  • There will be a net loss of 2,151 truly affordable council homes
  • Of the homes due to be built, just 6,478 (27%) of these homes are replacement social rented homes
  • Almost double the amount of social or council homes will be for private market sale or rent (11,961, 51%).

Cross-subsidy models don’t produce affordable housing

The cross-subsidy approach to estate regeneration has been the dominant model of estate regeneration for the past two decades and looks set to continue under the Labour government.

This is when council estates are demolished to make way for expensive properties which are put on the market or rented privately. In theory, the new private homes fund the construction of “affordable” homes on the sites.

However, the report has found that the word “affordable” is used with no consideration for what is truly affordable for people who need these housing options the most.  It is being used to platform affordable housing solutions for middle-income earners being prioritised over housing solutions for the record levels of people in temporary accommodation – 145,800 children in temporary accommodation – up 15% in a year.

Just open the door!

At the report launch, a member of Focus E15 housing campaign and resident from the Carpenters Estate in Newham, East London, gave a fitting analogy for the housing crisis from the position of a temporary tenant  living on an estate facing cross-subsidy redevelopment: “it’s like you’re watching a film and there’s a car on the train tracks with someone inside struggling to get out as a train speeds towards them…they are trying everything but the door handle…and you are screaming at the screen for them tojust open the door!  We need to open the door!”

Download the report:

Download The promise of cross-subsidy: Why estate demolition cannot solve London’s housing emergency.

Download the guide to the report:

To make the evidence as accessible as possible, PILC have created a guide to the report called What Golden Era: A guide to help challenge estate demolition plans with hard facts.

Watch PILC’s short film:

What Golden Era? 5 things you need to know about council house building in London – YouTube

On Saturday 19th October Focus E15 campaign will be holding a speak out demanding an end to temporary accommodation, and calling for safe secure truly affordable council housing!  Join us!

12pm-2pm / outside former Wilkos on the Stratford Broadway, Newham E15.

Urgent Open Letter to Waltham Forest Officials: Secure Housing for Vulnerable Children

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Read our open letter to Waltham Forest Council officials and local Labour MP.

Children with disabilities must be respected: we need safe and secure homes for families.

Dear Waltham Forest Housing department, MP Stella Creasy,
Chief Executive Linzi Roberts Egan and Councillor Richard Sweden,

We all came to the town hall on Thursday 18 July 2024 to deliver our message to the council meeting – one family, their support network and housing campaigners from Focus E15 campaign – to express our serious concern.

This is because a family of two parents, five children, two with autism and learning disabilities, are living in a two-bedroom flat on the seventh floor with dangerous windows.

Disabled children need more space.
These children are not safe.

The housing review said it was suitable.

A housing meeting with the Council that was held in June, that we had to fight to obtain, concluded that the solution to the overcrowding and dangerous windows, was to agree to give up our secure council tenancy and be moved into temporary accommodation again and start once more in the vicious circle of temporary accommodation/private rented sector/insecurity and constant moving.

You have asked us repeatedly for information and forms to be filled in and details to be completed. We have given you all the necessary documents for bidding. We have done this and done it again, we have the email trail and the reference numbers. Despite all the evidence in front of you, you ask us to do it again. We need certainty that you have the correct information and that we will be able to bid.

We ask, as parents of children with autism and learning disabilities to be listened to. Our children need security.

We ask that you listen to the health professionals, many of whom have written letters to say this housing situation is unsuitable and dangerous.

We ask that you listen to the contractors, three of whom who have come to the flat have said that the windows cannot be made safe for children who have no understanding of danger.

We ask that you meet with us again to discuss options that mean we are housed safely and securely in appropriate suitable council housing for our family’s needs.

No excuses please.

From
The family from Northwood Tower E17
Their friends and support network
Focus E15 housing campaign

Refurbish Don’t Demolish the Carpenters Estate: London Legacy Development Corporation  gives the greenlight to redevelopment plans

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What are the plans and what are the controversies, as Newham Council seek Greater London Authority approval.

For over a decade Focus E15 have campaigned for the opening of empty homes on the Carpenters Estate.  We have done so as housing campaigners witnessing the catastrophic rates of homelessness in the borough vs hundreds of empty public homes in walking distance from our weekly street stall (outside Wilko’s on the Stratford Broadway).  We were not the first to campaign for the estate, which has a long and inspirational history of resisting gentrification and displacement as a consequence of redevelopment.

The latest chapter in the story of the estate came on 27th February 2024, when the London Legacy Development Corporation (‘LLDC’), which is the planning authority with oversight for the estate, greenlit redevelopment plans from Populo Living, Newham Council’s property development company.  Plans will now be sent to the Mayor of London,  Sadiq Khan, to give his consent, before the section 106 agreement is finalised (contract between the local authority and developer) and plans are given the final rubberstamped approval.

But what are the plans?    Some key features:

  • This is an ‘outline planning application’ (also called a Masterplan) which will broadly give a bundle of rights to redevelop the estate, including the ability to demolish all existing structures apart from Lund Point, Biggerstaff Terrace (no.s 1-27(odd) Biggerstaff Road) which will be retained.  James Riley Point will also be retained (and already has permission for being refurbished).   This equates to 60% demolition.
  • This Masterplan sets out the broad plans including numbers of homes across the sites, what tenures, number of buildings and types of buildings (residential, commercial, etc) and also plans for greenspace/play space.  We have set out some detail of the plans below.

Timelines and phasing

  • Plans are for the Masterplan to be ‘built-out’ in 8 phases over 18 ‘development parcels’ with anticipated construction over a ten-year period between 2024 to 2034.

Phase 1 (2024) – The first phase (James Riley Point) has already been granted full planning permission having been designed as an early phase for refurbishment of the existing 23 storey residential tower, providing 136 homes, and provision of new community facilities to serve the Carpenters neighbourhood.  It is understood that a start on site is anticipated later in 2024.

Phase 2 (2026) – The second phase would involve refurbishment of the Lund Point residential tower, demolition of existing commercial buildings with new residential and commercial development in the surrounding land to the west of Lund Point.

Phase 3 (2028) – Demolition of the Denison Point residential tower and community buildings at Gibbons Road and replacement with new development of commercial uses (shops, etc) at ground floor with residential uses on the upper floors. A hotel is also proposed within Phase 3 of up to 9,147sq metres (in the illustrative scheme this is shown as providing a hotel with 191 beds).

Phase 4 (2029) -The fourth phase of the proposal would be in the centre of the redevelopment site and involve delivery of new homes and the northern part of the central public open space park. This includes building a new Building Crafts College.

Phase 5 (2029) – New residential development, and incorporating amenity space and play, and commercial frontages to Warton Road and Carpenters Road.

Phase 6 (2031) – This phase would involve the redevelopment of the Carpenters Arms pub and commercial buildings for new commercial units (shops, etc) floorspace at ground floor with residential uses above.

Phase 7 (2033) – This would provide new residential development around the southern part of the new central park with commercial frontages along Gibbins Road/Carpenters Road

  • In order to proceed with building each of the above phases, there will be detailed planning applications submitted to the planning authority (currently the LLDC, but may revert to Newham Council), called a Reserved Matters Application (‘RMA’).  The community will be consulted on each RMA, and each RMA has to be approved or rejected by the planning authority.   

Number and tenure of homes

  • Currently, there are 710 homes on the estate, 434 in three high rise blocks (James Riley Point, Lund Point and Dennison Point), and 276 in low rise blocks and terraced houses.
  • The masterplan is for up to 2,022 new, refurbished and replacement homes, and a minimum of 50.2% as affordable homes (measured by habitable room). Of the affordable homes, there will be up to 884 social rented homes (93.2% of the affordable homes) and 65 Intermediate homes.
  • However, social rented accommodation is typically offered in the form of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy or Starter Tenancy, as opposed to secure life-time tenancy.

Cinema and hotel

  • The Masterplan includes plans to build a cinema and a hotel on the estate land.  This is shocking given a) these were not included in the plans put to the resident’s in a ballot, b) that there are plenty of cinemas and hotels in walking distance from the estate.  When LLDC committee members asked Newham about why these were included in the plans, they were told they were merely for placemaking and it wasn’t even relevant how many people walked through the doors.  As we understand it, this refers to making the new estate as attractive as possible to new private buyers.

Multi-Use Games Area (‘MUGA’)

  • A MUGA is proposed to be built on the roof of a new school building and to have access available to the community.  There was some contention regarding this in the planning committee meeting, as being able to play at the MUGA required the school to be open.

I am concerned about the plans – what can I do?

  • Write to Sadiq Kahn about the differences in the Landlord Offer document balloted on, to what is included in the Masterplan – namely the addition of a cinema and hotel in these plans.

There are conditions attached to the funding released by the estate ballot, which you can read about here.

Point 8.7.2. states: Further, the GLA (Greater London Authority) will continue to check compliance at key points throughout the project. It may terminate a funding allocation and/or reclaim any funding paid (plus interest) on a project where the RBR applies if in its view: • the planning permission secured for a project materially deviates from the proposals set out in the Landlord Offer to residents; • a progress report to residents highlights that a project materially deviates from the proposals set out in the Landlord Offer to residents; and/or • the completed project materially deviates from the proposals set out in the Landlord Offer to residents.

  • If you supported the plans laid out in the Landlord Offer, it’s crucial you check that the Landlord Offer document is included in the section 106 agreement.  This is also true of the Residents Charter.  If they are in the Section 106 agreement, they are legally binding.
  • Keep an eye on the planning application in the portal for updates or changes to the plans – these could come years down the line, but could impact on the number of social rented homes, types of homes, etc.  It’s important to flag and challenge these changes!
  • Respond on consultations to Reserved Matters Applications which will be submitted with each phase of the redevelopment.

We believe homes on the Carpenters Estate should be refurbished, not demolished, that those on the estates are not displaced, and the land serves the people of Newham – adults and children – who are languishing in unsafe and insecure and unaffordable housing.  We will continue to hold Newham Council to account over this land!  We welcome all to our street stall to continue organising for the future of the Carpenters Estate – the land of the 3 towers!

The Focus E15 street stall is every Saturday 12-2 outside Wilko’s on the Stratford Broadway, except when there is  cross-London march for Palestine.