‘The more deprived and edgy, the better’: the two sides of London’s property boom

In the hours after the Conservatives won a majority at the general election, London estate agents reported a surge in luxury property sales. Shares in Foxtons rose by 13%, and more than £100m of central London property was sold in a 24-hour frenzy, as estate agents worked through the night to deal with the renewed interest from wealthy buyers. Their fears over Labour’s proposed mansion tax had been allayed, and the tax loophole for non-doms had been preserved. Meanwhile, there is a growing sense among those on low incomes that they are being pushed out of the capital. According to a recent Oxfam report, the five wealthiest families in the UK are richer than the poorest 20% of the entire population. Nowhere is this disparity more apparent than in Tower Hamlets, located at the heart of London’s East End, which has long been associated with some of the worst poverty in Britain. As many as 23% of families here live on less than £15,000 a year, and 53% of children come from families living on unemployment benefits. Tower Hamlets is also home to the towers of Canary Wharf, a hub of banking and commerce, making the borough one of the wealthiest parts of Britain, too. Its economy, worth more than £6bn a year, is greater than that of Monaco. More than £100m of central London property was sold in a 24-hour frenzy Luxury apartments are now selling for millions in Tower Hamlets. Estate agents, the foot soldiers of the housing boom, armed with shiny new catalogues, describe the area as “vibrant” and “edgy”. This is estate-agent speak for “visible signs of poverty nearby” – and it is accompanied by the tacit assumption that in a few years’ time the area will be completely gentrified. I talked to people on both sides of this wave of change, as a new, fully Conservative government takes shape. I’ve lived on this estate since I was a small child. I live with my wife and three children; my parents are next door. As part of the 2006 transfer of council houses to housing associations, we felt positive about the provider EastendHomes taking over; they promised extensive refurbishments. 'You hear the phrase "social cleansing" being used – and that's exactly what this is' Now, they are talking about demolishing this estate and building a 25-storey tower, all private apartments, with 120 low-rise “affordable housing” units around it. The process would displace 600 residents. EastendHomes say they will resettle everyone, but there is a waiting list of 20,000 people in Tower Hamlets – so it could be outside the borough, or even London. We’re talking about 200 families effectively being forced out of the area – separated and rehoused in different places. They say that, when the new estate is finally built, they will offer us first refusal, but we would all be scattered by then – and how much of it would be genuinely affordable? Half the people here are leasehold owners, who have bought their flats – including me. If it goes through, we would be offered “market value” for our homes; and if we refused, the developers could seek a compulsory purchase order. The estate is valuable because we are just two or three minutes from the City of London. They can generate a lot of income from building private homes with social housing on the side. EastendHomes argue that the buildings here are structurally unsound and uneconomical to refurbish, which we totally disagree with. It’s very frustrating. You hear the phrase “social cleansing” being used – and that’s exactly what this is. Read More: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/may/30/london-property-market-boom-housing-tower-hamlets Related Article: http://strictlylondonbound.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/w10.html