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SALFORD CITY COUNCIL SET TO APPROVE £4.7MILLION SUBSIDY FOR UNAFFORDABLE HOUSING
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Star date: 17th February 2020 COUNCIL SET TO APPROVE OUTRAGEOUS SUBSIDY FOR ENGLISH CITIES FUND Salford City Council is set to approve an outrageous £4.752million subsidy to the English Cities Fund, or ECf, to build a 23 storey block of apartments off Stanley Street that will feature 'no affordable housing'. The ECf, is a partnership that includes the financially massive Legal and General company and Muse Developments, and the funding is coming from the Development Trust Account which was supposed to help build affordable housing. Full details here...
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Salford City Council's relationship with the English Cities Fund, or ECf, will take another incredibly sick turn next week if City Mayor Paul Dennett signs off a £4,752,484 subsidy for the organisation to build 211 unaffordable apartments in a 23 storey block off Stanley Street down in what is dubbed 'New Bailey'. Planning permission for the development was granted last October (see here). The ECf is a partnership between the financially mighty Legal and General, Muse Developments and Homes England, with cheerleading by Salford Council. When the project was set up to develop along the Chapel Street and New Bailey, rather than pay Section 106 money for things like infrastructure and affordable housing, a secretive fund called the Development Trust Account, or DTA, was created "The DTA operates to capture any monies generated once costs have been accounted for" stated the Council to the Salford Star under the Freedom of Information Act "...Any surpluses generated are then deposited in the DTA for use on items such as affordable housing and public realm..." ...Except that, as far as the Star can figure out, none of it has been spent on affordable housing. Instead, millions of pounds have been taken from the fund to subsidise the building of unaffordable properties... The Salford Star reported in June last year that £6.437million was taken from the DTA to build 167 apartments and eleven townhouses on Chapel Street opposite Salford Cathedral and branded Atelier Homes.* Now, £4.7million is set to be taken from it to build this latest unaffordable block to keep ECf's profits high... "Under the terms of the ODA [Overarching Development Agreement], ECf are entitled to a return of 15% on development costs on each phase" states the Salford Council report "Each phase is subject to a viability test and ECf are only obliged to proceed with any phase where it is shown to be 'viable' i.e. where ECf should get back all phase-specific development costs and a full developer's return." The report adds that "Recently, the commercial developments at New Bailey have contributed to the DTA whereas the residential schemes have drawn from it..." And none of these schemes have included affordable housing, including this one, despite the ODA stating that "Any surpluses generated are then deposited in the DTA for use on items such as affordable housing and public realm..." It seems like the ECf is trying to spend up the Development Trust Account before the end of its lifespan, as anything left in the account at the end of scheme gets split 50-50 with the Council. The report apologises that "ECf are aware of the burden being placed on the DTA and are reviewing the wider residential/commercial mix within the ODA area..." After this latest subsidy to mega-minted financial companies is agreed, it will be over £11million taken from the Trust Account which could have been spent on what the City Mayor keeps calling an 'affordable housing crisis' in the city. By the end of the ECF project the Salford Star will bet that not one single affordable property has been built. Meanwhile, the process, the Council maintains is 'transparent'..."...As with all the ECf project schemes an open and transparent process will be undertaken to confirm actual costs against the estimates in the appraisal and the actual DTA contribution /credit is only crystallised at financial close..." Except that the press and public are kept out of this 'transparent process', with all details kept secret. At the same Salford Council 'Regeneration' meeting that will approve this outrageous subsidy next week, the 'private sector partner' for the Crescent and University Masterplan will also be appointed – with all details again kept secret as the agenda item appears under Part 2 – Closed To The Public.
* For a full background see previous Salford Star articles... £8million Subsidy for Chapel Street Developer as Salford Community Shop Gets Eviction Order – click here English Cities Fund Wins Feed The Rich Award – click here
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wrote
at 12:56:13 on 20 February 2020 |
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| try not to confuse DISJOINTED BRAIN WITH reasonable debate his petty prejudices and jaundiced view of life will never change arrested development poor lad reading age of 10 years let him live in his rambo die hard films utopia success to DJB is a shiney car consrvatory and paying a big mortgage off 2 weeks in benidorm at xmass wearing a string vest smoking 60 cigs a day and drinking cans of lager shouting at his 50 inch tv . |
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wrote
at 06:03:26 on 20 February 2020 |
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| DJB, it’s not about punishing success.These companies get given public money (or money meant to build affordable housing), and public land and social housing stock under the agreement that they would deliver, so I would say they’re under an obligation to build/provide some. Instead they turn around and say “Thanks! But we’re not providing what you want, there’s not enough profit in it!” So they’ll take public subsidies, land and stock, but build very little, if any, affordable housing. And of course, the Council becomes a Churchill nodding dog. If these companies were purely investor funded, I’d agree that they’d be under far less obligation to build affordable properties, but that’s not the case in many of the articles the Star reports. It’s Council-owed land sold far below its price to a developer, who then uses national and local legislation to claim subsidies and then avoid building anything affordable. Nothing to do with punishing success. |
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bob the regular wrote
at 17:37:51 on 19 February 2020 |
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| This £4million that Darren goes on about for land near Ashley brook. Who gets that? works out at 30 grand a plot.
Last week I was working in Cheshire, Hale Barns.Got chatting about politicians ect to bloke whose house it was.Guy got wrong idea about me,he thought that because I was working class and from Salford that I would be staunch Labour.With him being public school type, I thought I'd play up to it and get him going.I started about affordable housing, and how tories don't provide cash for it. He said they do, in the form of housing benefit, its just that the housing providers and councils do not spend it properly. he explained, and I had to agree, the £150 a week a poor family get in housing benefit should equate to a 150 grand loan taken out to build a 3 bed house. got to admit he is right. Give me 150 grand, i will give you a house for 150 a week, and I will make a profit. So if we scale this up a bit, why doesn't Cllr Merry and Cllr Kelly use Derive ltd to borrow 10 million, buy the golf course, borrow another 1.5 billion and build 1000 affordable houses for poor people on that golf club site. We could even treat the former swinton park members to their first years subscription at Worsley golf club. I am sure they will all like it at Worsley. Come on Merry and Kelly, lets see what your made of. |
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wrote
at 12:00:48 on 19 February 2020 |
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| No sympathy kev nowt new there .cant blame salford council for national policy instigated by the thatcher gangS destruction of council housing and now over 40 per cent of former council housing owned by spiv landlords or/ rich daddy boys who have never done a days work in there lives poncing of housing benefit / the state .what can be called into question of the labour councils is the sheer gutlessness in opposing this state of affairs the salford councillors born in salford should be ashamed of there lack of fight in the protecting of local people this lot have ridden the gravy train some of these ponces for over 30 years they have no excuse for there neglect and bone idleness time for this lot to retire the councillors from other places parachuted into labour wards should be booted out and replaced by local people born in salford and who live in the ward they represent . |
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Kev wrote
at 09:50:10 on 19 February 2020 |
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| No, sympathy. It's what Salford people keep voting for. |
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Bomber Harris wrote
at 07:10:48 on 19 February 2020 |
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| You lot keep on going on about pathfinder.I think it was quite a successful mission. I hear the sound of four thousand merlins revving up, ETA mid may. These lot have seen the amount of shit one Lancaster can get them into. Imagine what a thousand can do. |
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Bob the regular wrote
at 07:10:09 on 19 February 2020 |
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| Cody, you're right about the Old Windsor High site. It has been empty years, right in the middle of Salford. Nobody mentions it, never heard of any plans for it. It is a big site.We have the land, we have the need for houses, we have plenty of skilled local labour. Why are we not building houses? In fact, at the other end of Churchill way, we are busy knocking houses down. We got to blame someone. Let's blame the fat turd who lives in Downing Street. Yes ,it's all his fault, not the fat arsed turd who lives in Albion Towers. |
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DJB wrote
at 07:09:48 on 19 February 2020 |
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| As always it's not private investors responsibility to provide affordable housing, the local has that sole responsibility. Let's for goodness sake get of this tired old story as quite frankly it's boring. How about bringing the current Labour Council to task for not doing enough? Enough of trying to punish success. |
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DARREN BORN AND BRED. wrote
at 07:09:26 on 19 February 2020 |
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| Cody @ I thought the two vacant lots around litter strewn full of rubbish Langworthy facing the Ashley brook pub had been sold for over £4 million. A housing developer is building about 150 property's on it, it's in Salford star back in August 9 2019 last year.. Also the old Windsor high school land has been left abandoned now for about 19/20 years and the council are doing jack shit about it. The council should build about 300 social (council) 3bed houses on this massive land for SALFORD LOCAL PEOPLE ONLY. The people that have been on the waiting list the longest, the people that have got 2parents and 3kids living in 2bed house's. There is thousands on our housing waiting list. That's it. |
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Cody wrote
at 18:18:00 on 18 February 2020 |
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| @ Bob - Also what about the old Windsor High school land, the vacant lots around Langworthy? And Ray, yet again... how about the Council collect the fees these developers owe and hold them to their word when they say they’ll deliver social housing? They did change their Supplementary Planning Document, right? So what’s the excuse now? Can you not see these properties are not for the likes of the average Salfordian? That’s not to say local people can’t aspire to buy one, but it’s out of reach for the vast majority. You insist on defending this shameless Council and calling anyone who questions them “Malcontents”, all the while local people are stuck on Salford Home Search bidding for what little housing there is and failing! And before you blame the Tories to try and deflect blame from the Council, yes the shameless Tory Gov is to blame too. Though, as the Star has consistently pointed out, is only half of the story. There’s evidence above that, if it passes, would have handed £11 million to developers in total which was supposed to deliver some kind of ‘affordable’ housing, which itself is vague term. What planet are you on, a supposed “socialist” where you defend the flogging of social housing, land and money to private developers for private profit? In the face of the reality we, many of the readers and contributors of the Star, see - your contributions and defence of this Council are mindbendingly deranged and disconnected from reality itself. I genuinely find it hard to fathom how you don’t see a problem with what the Council’s doing here, and what’s more, is you actively defend them. |
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Bob the regular wrote
at 15:28:56 on 18 February 2020 |
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| On be arf ov all't malcontents, can I answer that bit of a question our Ray poses about where to put all the affordable housing. Answers easy. Will stick em ont'th golf course like your housing are going to do.They could put say hundred bungalows on there , nice luxury ones for the old folk who live on an estate in a 3 bed house. That way they get the 3 bed houses back. The old folk wont cause much trouble. That way they could wangle planning for the other 900 houses. could dennett turn that down? not a chance. Again , what about the council owned playing fields next to the golf club. Is that for recreational use as well. Is it bollocks, thats building land for profit. |
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wrote
at 15:28:35 on 18 February 2020 |
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| OR to put it another way Ray. They shouldnt have knokced down the affordable housing. |
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wrote
at 15:28:16 on 18 February 2020 |
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| Well Ray old chum, Salford council knocked down a load of affordable housing with the pathfinder scheme. I'm sure you will say that they were slums. Did you ever see that program where they did up a rough one in the Welsh Streets in Liverpool? I think it cost 25 thousand, when Salford council were banging on about it costing 4 or 5 times that.
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wrote
at 11:01:02 on 18 February 2020 |
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| ooh cor blimey chum they would vote for a donkey with a blue roset stuck on its head around here like us dad did and us grandad did from bert pwaffler johnson henley on thames . |
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Rayofsunshine wrote
at 10:21:34 on 18 February 2020 |
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| What I'd like to know from "the malcontents" is
how would deliver "affordable housing" in
Salford? They moan,they bitch but have
they any real answers to the housing crisis
in Salford? |
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Kenny wrote
at 07:44:06 on 18 February 2020 |
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| Stop moaning and use your Vote,Don't vote Labour because your parents did. Give someone else a chance,Labour has proved for 40 years it is NOT fit to run a council |
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Simona valyte wrote
at 07:43:27 on 18 February 2020 |
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| I just don’t know where to look or ask for the help
I was involved with the same Social services over 5year now and I have all evidence that for today day my son is hold on there without any Priti culture reasons!!! Maybe any one can give me some advice???!! I feeling like my energy is gone and don’t even know what to do at all.. again they have changed social worker just to mess up all as they usually do!! Anything they asked me I did then they have changed strategy of them dirty jobs
My son thinks that I not visit him (last time I saw) him he was so happy making plans for the next time!!!
And in the end I found out that I need a new easement?!!!
Don’t know what is best option I REALLY LOOSING my brain over it... |
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BORN AND BRED DARREN wrote
at 20:44:07 on 17 February 2020 |
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| Same old story. No affordable house's yet again in Salford. This money should be spent helping the citizens of Salford. |
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Gareth L wrote
at 20:43:35 on 17 February 2020 |
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| In answer to Jackie Marsh - Salford council does not care about you. You don't live near Chapel Street or on Media City. And if your not a trendy champagne socialist with an art degree they will care even less. The only way is to get them worried about their jobs and then they may do something for the many and not the few.
Sorry to be so glib Jackie |
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Jackie marsh wrote
at 10:31:07 on 17 February 2020 |
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| We have experienced so many cuts in welfare services, especially for children and disabled. Threatened to lose our green spaces for housing.... Salford is becoming very unhealthy to live in, especially Irlam, with fall out from local power station. Paper recycling etc. This money should be redirected to helping people of Salford. |
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