Nicky Gavron speaks out
February 26th, 2010
‘Mixed and balanced communities are rightly one of the shibboleths of the London Plan. But under Mr Johnson’s this means ‘a mix of tenure should be sought, particularly in neighbourhoods where social renting predominates’. Where, one might ask, are displaced residents to go? Crucially, there is no reciprocal policy for social rented housing to be introduced into areas where private housing predominates.
Nicky Gavron and Karen Buck are the engine of opposition to the “disease spreading ever wider that the land on which council tenants live is available for development” – see Estates under threat
Follow up . . .
Of course government policy would see this as a move in the right direction towards a social and tenure mix and a more balanced community. It probably does not feel like this if you are on the waiting list – mixed communities don’t seem to work in the opposite direction, as the recent nasty little episode about ‘million pound Council houses’ illustrated.
https://www.jonestheplanner.co.uk/2012/11/hackney-hipsters.html
Mayor’s Question Time – Housing
February 24th, 2010
Boris Johnson blustered and blathered his way through a twenty minute grilling from Nicky Gavron who did well to stick to her brief given Boris’s ignorant and uninformed replies. The man both knows nothing about the situation on the ground nor appears to care.
Not once did he use the terms social rented or council housing, nor even council tenant. He repeatedly used the term affordable as if this were the only form of housing available or envisaged for the future and this in spite of the london.gov.uk website proudly proclaiming that . . .
The Mayor is working to provide many more social rented homes and ensure that social renting provides an opportunity to foster aspirations and gives support to those who need it.
It’s one thing to take a hands off approach, it’s quite another not to even acknowledge that you’re in charge of the process and ought therefore to know the basic facts.
Three Mills West Stratford
February 21st, 2010
UPDATE: 13/11/25 It became QMU Aspire Point Stratford
UPDATE: 14/8/16 “A former Esso Petrol station is set to become a thriving student complex and arts centre thanks to Alumno Developments. Start on site Spring 2016″ – allegedly.
So a site I visited six years ago is happening without the single aspect flats I complained about below because the developer has changed and all the rooms will be single aspect as student rooms.
More single aspect flats
This scheme for Stratford passed for planning on 9th September following acceptance of the S106 agreement, depresses me because there are much better ways to design flats and avoid the problems of single aspect dwellings.
https://pa.newham.gov.uk/online-applications/search.do?action=simple&searchType=Application
Planning reference: 09/01746/LTGDC
Drawing number: 2841_L102
Enlarge it to 150% and take a look at typical floor (3-7 & 10-23). 1 bed s/a facing SW. 2 bed s/a facing SE. 2 bed s/a facing NW which will have an intimate view of James Riley Point and its inhabitants. [No they won’t. James Riley Point is going to be demolished – Ed.] These are emphatically not back to backs. If the owners desire a change of air they can always open the front door and through ventilate the flat but it’s not ideal, and no choice of view. There are seven flats on each floor and of those three are single aspect.
Kickstart funds poor quality homes
February 19th, 2010
From Building Design magazine
Cabe was employed by fellow quango the Homes & Communities Agency to assess the £360 million first round of Kickstart last summer and analysed every short listed housing scheme using the industry’s Building for Life [BfL] standard.
But for the larger £550 million second round — which is ongoing — Cabe’s role has been slashed, with it only examining private sector projects and not the affordable housing schemes.
The Pippins is an estate of 52 private and affordable homes on a former power station in Rugeley, Staffordshire, which received £507,000 from Kickstart round one.
Planning officer Ros Robb then revealed that the final scheme was never scrutinised by councillors but was approved under delegated powers after members had agreed to a previous, less intensive, development.
Robb said: “It was much nicer before. But they have increased the density and watered down the design to get a scheme they felt they could market.”
Read Jonathan Glancey’s take on the situation here
“More than ever we need a new generation of local authority architects departments”
Single aspect flats II
February 17th, 2010
At the end of 2008 a film was rediscovered featuring Sir John Betjeman in Leeds talking about buildings. In it he visited the then semi-derelict Marshall’s Mill which is now the subject of a renovation project by Urbed who talk about the difficulties of converting former mill buildings into flats. I can only quote a short section here but the document is worth reading in full or at least the chapter 3D Masterplan – Blocks.
In city centres it is more common to develop flats as corridor blocks or ‘double loaded’ blocks. These involve single-aspect apartments off a central corridor and tend to be 20-25m deep. This is the way that many conversions of warehouses have been undertaken. However for new-build schemes there can be problems with corridor blocks. Because the apartments are single aspect, there is a need to provide space around the block to achieve privacy, natural light and solar gain. There is also the problem that some apartments end up with a single northern aspect. It is therefore necessary to space blocks 20-25m apart. This is fine on large city streets (The Briggate for example is 20m wide). However it makes it difficult to create residential accommodation onto narrow urban streets.
They go on to say that despite building some flats as single aspect off a corridor they did build some scissor maisonettes as well.
The remainder of the blocks are dual aspect and are accessed by balconies on the internal face of the courtyard. This balcony is linked to the corridor of the double loaded apartments and is accessed by cores that access both the street and the courtyard. The aim is for the courtyard to become the main means of access to the apartments. The block layout suggested by Bauman Lyons (opposite right) is based on similar principles except that the east west blocks are designed as ‘scissor flats’ (shown in blue). The east /west apartments could also be designed as walk-up blocks with individual staircases serving each pair of apartments.
The historic present
February 17th, 2010
In what way is the English language enhanced by removing the past tense? I ask this question in all seriousness because for some time now the media have taken it upon themselves to refer to historical events in the present tense. The most recent example that comes to mind is John Tusa doing a series of daily reports on the events of 1968 around Europe. This was narrated in the historic present and resulted in my switching off after a very short time despite my respect for the presenter.
On occasion entire documentaries have been presented in this way, perhaps it is thought to add immediacy to a program. I really have no idea, having not asked the producers.
Having looked around the web the conclusion seems to be that it’s ok for a brief period such as retelling a story in a pub, to bring immediacy to the action, but that one should switch back to the past in the longer term, and likewise with documentaries, that the historic present quickly becomes tedious and irritating. That’s my view, what do you think?
Job agencies
February 17th, 2010
‘the agent is not there to find you a job’
The best advice I’ve ever seen written down for those seeking work through agencies is what follows below:-
There do seem to be some misconceptions about agents.
The agent is *not* there to find you a job. In theory the agent is there to find the best staff for the employer – it’s the employer they’re working for, you can tell this by the fact that it’s the employer that pays them, not the candidate.
This theory rarely plays out in practice however. In practice the agent is working for himself. He does *not* try to find the best staff for the employer, he tries instead to make the most profit for himself, which is *not* always the same thing.
Whatever, the concept of “finding you a job” never enters an agent’s brain for a nanosecond, it’s simply not what they do.
If you want to see the whole quote in context then click the article header Job agencies and you will be taken to the relevant page.
In my experience it is far too easy to be taken in by agents on the phone who would appear to have your best interests at heart, some do, most do not.
Right to buy
February 15th, 2010
Stephen Greenhalgh and “decent neighbourhoods”
Anybody got anything intelligent to say about the continuing to stack the poorest and the most recently arrived on top of each other, in defined areas, for the rest of time?
Clearly you are right that this is not a good idea. However you have to look at the history to see why this now appears to be the case.
When RTB was introduced by Margaret Thatcher it was always going to be the most desirable properties in the best locations that went first to those who could afford the discounted prices. This inevitably altered the housing stock balance across the country adversely and tilted towards the estates which even if they had not been in trouble before now began to decline because tenants able to afford RTB on those estates moved out and let the flats to DSS tenants.
Eating on public transport
February 15th, 2010
The answer is no, eating ought to be banned on public transport in the same way that alcohol was. This has only come about because of the growth of the fast food industry and the subsequent demise of cheap places to sit down and eat with cutlery. The fast food industry has been allowed to grow unregulated while passing 50% of their responsibility (litter, unwashed hands, somewhere to sit down in comfort and eat) outside the door. It is true that McDonalds and perhaps others do pay their staff to clean up in the immediate area outside the door but beyond that litter is still dropped, and worse on windy days it can end up some way from its origin.
When more cafés existed it was only possible to take away food such as a sandwich in a brown paper bag, a piece of fruit, or a tea or coffee in a (chunky) polystyrene cup with a lid. https://www.classiccafes.co.uk shows the way things were and could be again. The only way to change this is by using them more and eating inside at the place of purchase, and not on public transport.
Housing typologies
February 14th, 2010
This page is now redundant having been replaced by the static page Typology