Press Release Stop Evictions! Secure Tenancies Now Focus E15 occupiers make demands to Newham Council to repopulate Carpenters Estate (located next to the Olympic Village) by reopening empty homes and putting an immediate stop to planned evictions. Our demands: • An immediate stop to all evictions; people continue to be evicted from their homes on Carpenters Estate • Fill all empty properties with secure tenancies now We have written today to the Mayor of Newham, giving these demands and requesting an urgent meeting to resolve them for the benefit of everyone. There are 18,000 people on the council waiting list who need homes in Newham urgently. Focus E15 campaigners and Carpenters residents are proposing a simple and reasonable solution to a wider housing crisis. Focus E15 campaigners have occupied a block of 4 empty council flats on the Carpenters Estate, by the Olympic Park in Stratford. All four flats are habitable with carpets, new kitchens and bathrooms and running water and electricity. The space has been run as a social centre for the community since 21st September. Residents on Carpenters Estate are in full support of the occupation and have been instrumental in creating and running the space. Residents say the occupation has brought the community back to life by running workshops and free entertainment events attended by celebrities such as Russell Brand and Josie Long. Resident Mark Jones stated: “I was evicted from Carpenter’s Estate because the council want to turn this place into luxury apartments and shops. I’m homeless and I’m desperate to come home to my community. This occupation has given me hope that it is possible.” Focus E15 occupier, Jasmin Stone states: “These flats are beautiful and ready to be moved into. If we can reclaim this space for two weeks there is no reason why people here should have to leave their homes. There is no reason why families couldn’t have a home for life here, today. We demand that Newham stop evictions and fill these empty homes with secure tenancies now.” -ENDS- Notes to editor: 1) Focus E15 began as a campaign by homeless mothers after they received eviction notices and were threatened with displacement to Manchester, Hastings and Birmingham. Their families have lived in Newham for generations and they continue to live there. It has now expanded into a broad based campaign for housing justice in London 2) For more information, please see: theguardian/commentisfree/2014/sep/23/real-politics-empty-london-housing-estate; theguardian/commentisfree/2014/sep/23/why-occupying-boarded-up-east-london-council-house-social-housing; channel4/news/housing-homes-20-per-cent-discount-brownfield-tax-exempt 3) 1 in 4 Newham residents is on the council housing waiting list theguardian/news/datablog/2012/aug/22/housingmarket-london-data
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 10:49:35 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015