Slides and notes from meeting with Council and Councillors

Today George and Laura met with Councillor Francis, Councillor Cotton, Paul Kitson and his new colleague, and a Berkeley Group representative. More detailed notes/names are forthcoming, and we have asked for the minutes they took. George will also share his Powerpoint slides. The meeting lasted just over an hour and proceeded as follows.

We all introduced ourselves. George shared a Powerpoint presentation (below) outlining all of our concerns and requests. After this, Councillor Cotton stated that engagement needed to be better but Paul Kitson seemed unwilling to consider redrawing the red line or selecting another developer. Berkeley Group seemed to suggest not everything inside the red line would be knocked down and wanted George and myself to answer a question about whether we would be happy with the regeneration if our estate was excluded, which is interesting.

Nobody in the meeting appeared willing to entertain our ongoing requests – to redrawing the red line, selecting another developer, like for like at no additional cost, etc. They seemed particularly sensitive about plans for what will happen to council properties in currently poor condition. They do not seem to know entirely what the offering is to homeowners. We also pressed them on people who are currently unable to move due to the regen. They appeared to agree to clarify these issues going forward.

We do not expect to hear from them anytime soon as communication has been slow. However, if we do not hear from them by January, then we plan to use alternative approaches including contacting the Commissioners who have been appointed to oversee the council due to their debt crisis. Thank you for all you have done to keep up the pressure, which allowed this meeting to happen in the first place. More details to come and these are only initial reflections – hope to see you at the door knocking on Sunday.