The Redbridge ReOrder

The Revolving Doors website details how 20 percent of councilors in the London borough of Southwark have been found to work as lobbyists for the planning and development industry. 

Following decades of housing neglect, the Grenfell Disaster and the more recent pushback of Haringey Councils awful HDV joint social cleansing venture with Lendlease. The two-way relationship between politicians and large developers is the subject of a justifiable and growing interest to electorates, peeed off with the housing crisis and generally harmed by.  To me its doubley interesting because of what the case of Haringey teaches us about political career making (and breaking) and Redbridge. As evidenced here, Haringey’s council leader played an important role in stitching up selections for local ward elections in her party. 

Redbridge has its own strong tradition of poor planning and development decision-making. So far this comprises :The Revolving Door, strategic incompetence and very limited imagination. 

The Revolving Door

Preliminary investigations have shown several sitting councilors appear quite compromised with respect to the Planning and Development sector. An online resource should be available well before we get into local election season.

Strategic Incompetence

What better way to enable the bulldozers than to ensure key positions are held by people unwilling and/or unable to challenge them? I once heard a confused and confusing cabinet member for housing hailing a couple dozen ’affordable’ homes, a Housing Revolution.

Very limited imagination

One of the most inspiring campaigns in Redbridge is Ilford NOISE, that’s Neighbourhoods of Ilford South Engage! 

Based in and around the Ilford South end of the borough, it leads on community political organising and focuses on housing.  Housing is a mine field with enough vested interests to cloth the entire Himalaya region. 

I used to live in Ilford South when I was small, and have family and friends there. The map is interesting, and its the kind of place that puts up Asian UKIP candidates and would make an interesting case study for white flight.

Ilford NOISE are holding a public meeting to discuss issues around the Redbridge Local Plan and to introduce the idea of neighbourhood planning on Wednesday 23rd August 2017, from 7.30-9.30pm in the Gloucester Room at Ilford Central Library. All are welcome but please do drop them a line or email so they can plan for numbers.

The Redbridge Local Plan as it stands aims to dump a large amount (10 000+ units) of largely unaffordable housing onto this the densest and most socioeconomically marginalised part of the borough over the next 10 years or so. Its generally easier to run over the politically marginalised with concrete, they do not have the same NIMBY power as the wealthier and leafier folks, which is a shame.