Triumph for local residents as Livingstone removes his Prestolite objection
A dispute over the number of rented homes in a west London housing development has resulted in a hollow victory for the Mayor of London according to a spokesperson for LBH&F.
In a triumph for local residents, Mayor Livingstone has removed his objection to the development on the old Prestolite site, on Larden Road. Although the site is close to both Ealing and Hounslow borough borders, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
A LBH&F planning committee had approved a mixed use scheme at the end of last year, from Genesis Housing Group, for 453 units. The original plan would have included 92 social rented units, 196 shared ownership units and 165 market units.
The new scheme, following the Mayor’s intervention, now includes 12 more rented units and 12 fewer shared ownership homes although, subject to conditions all rented tenants now have the opportunity to part purchase their homes after three years under a ground breaking new equity interest scheme.
Called Inclusive Living, the innovative new scheme, entitles anybody who is renting their home to a stake equivalent to 3 per cent of the equity of their home after three years renting as well as the opportunity to buy further stakes up to 9 per cent. It is anticipated that the scheme will allow low to middle income households to ‘micro stair case’ into home ownership.
H&F Council Leader Stephen Greenhalgh, said,“We were never interested in crude percentages – we simply wanted to do a deal that would be acceptable to local people and provide residents with an opportunity to own a stake in their home.
“After three years of renting, all tenants will be set on the road to homeownership with the help of the Inclusive Living scheme. Having a stake in their home will mean that tenants and their families will be able to share in the boroughs prosperity as the value of that stake increases and they move toward full homeownership."
Residents groups have also welcomed the Mayor’s U-turn while criticising the intervention in the first place. Raj Bhatia, Chairman of the Stamford Brook Resident Association, said,“We strongly objected to the Mayor’s intervention. Residents around here don’t want high density, cramped buildings with no additional infrastructure or services. We welcome the fact the scheme is now going ahead but would have preferred the scheme the council approved in December 2006.”
In a survey of 294 local residents 86 per cent of people wanted the scheme approved as it was before the Mayor’s intervention, 9 per cent of people wanted fewer rented homes in the scheme and only 2 per cent – or five people – wanted more rented homes in the scheme.
West Central London Assembly Member Angie Bray, whose constituency the Prestolite development is in, said, “I am delighted that commonsense has prevailed. Mayor Livingstone does have a tendency to shoot from the lip and this must be worrying given the new planning powers the Government is proposing to hand over to him. But at least on this occasion the matter has been resolved in a way that is definitely in the best interests of the local community.”
Annabell Clarke, from the Cathnor Park Area Action Group, added, “We’re thrilled that the development can now go ahead.”
March 6, 2007
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