Cllr Paul Bell | Latest News

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We shouldn't need to fight for social housing

We shouldn't need to fight for social housing

Back in 2018, when I became Cabinet Member for Housing, I asked Lewisham Homes to commission a video to show and hear the voices of our fellow residents living in Temporary Accommodation (TA). The video's point was to support Lewisham Council's work in delivering the new social and council home building programme. What has remained the same since 2018 is that everyone says they are in favour of social housing, but when it comes to it, are they? I've attended public meetings w

Willow Way: I've been asked about why we are not developing this site, yet

Willow Way: I've been asked about why we are not developing this site, yet

The site is currently designated as employment land based on current Local Plan policies which will make a primarily residential scheme very challenging to bring forward in isolation. However, the Council has been approached by the adjacent landowners who are interested in bringing forward a new employment-focussed use on their site. We are currently exploring with them the potential of a more joined up approach. We want to test the concept of a mixed use employment/resid

Further clarification on Convoys Wharf, Plot 21

Further clarification on Convoys Wharf, Plot 21

Thank you to everyone who has contacted me regarding the Convoys Wharf development and the future of Plot 21. The Council has been engaging closely with the developers in order to ensure that local residents are able to have their say on the future of the Convoys Wharf development. We have consistently emphasised the importance of proper community engagement throughout this process. The community engagement webinar hosted in December was organised by Hutchinson Property Group

What is the Cladding Scandal?

What is the Cladding Scandal?

There are 1.5 million leaseholders trapped in a scandal, not of their own making. The Cladding Scandal or #EndOurCladdingScandal is about the potential ruin both financially and in the health of people, families and their children by the construction industry's failure to build safely and well in new build leasehold properties. The freeholders, including housing associations, are also complicit in passing the blame onto others while maintaining that leaseholders will have to

Leasehold is a feudal system

Leasehold is a feudal system

The first leasehold properties appeared in the Middle Ages to allow landowners opportunities to maximise their income. Leasehold is mentioned in the Doomsday Book. The idea, according to the Law Society, was "...to allow 'villeins' or 'serfs' to work a plot of land, for a fixed period, on the basis that they would pay 'in-kind' by providing food and services to those further up the social order, principally the land owners." Leasehold in the 20th and 21st centuries is used