Stand Up For Public Sector Tenants; Stand Up For Hamiltonhill
treehugger76 | 14.09.2009 20:40 | Social Struggles
Having publicised their situation throughout and beyond Glasgow, Hamiltonhill Action Group have now gained the support of the Scottish Tenants Organisation as well as neighbouring estates giving further signs of solidarity and support. The Action Group are holding a weekly stall immediately outside GHA headquarters and have made contact with several other resident’s groups in Glasgow. There have also been a large number of unaffiliated social housing residents coming up to the stall to share stories and generally showing GHA that Glasgow is supporting the campaign for better social housing, whether it is in Possil, Parkhead or Pollokshields.
Since putting in a formal request to GHA for a timetable of works to install Secured By Design steel security doors in Hamiltonhill, the Hamiltonhill Action Group have now escalated the campaign, since GHA have chosen to completely ignore both the request and complaint logged by the residents via the Action Group.
Over a month has passed since the Action Group registered their official request but GHA has been deathly silent despite follow up correspondence from the Group and residents. Even according to their own agenda and targets of responding to resident’s requests and correspondence the GHA have failed. Considering a colossal 50% of the budget is spent on administration, surely it can’t be an issue of not having enough people to answer the phones?!
GHA have shown themselves to be unconcerned for their tenants health and safety, consistently ignoring demands for investment to be made to improve the quality of social housing in the area. However, Hamiltonhill has been subject to a systematic programme of neglect by GHA and Glasgow City Council, prior to it being earmarked for demolition in 2008 and as a local resident said:-
“We have stayed here 9 years, and our door always opens when you press the service button, at any time. They don’t think there is anything wrong with that.”
Having publicised their situation throughout and beyond Glasgow, Hamiltonhill Action Group have now gained the support of the Scottish Tenants Organisation as well as neighbouring estates giving further signs of solidarity and support. The Action Group are holding a weekly stall immediately outside GHA headquarters and have made contact with several other resident’s groups in Glasgow. There have also been a large number of unaffiliated social housing residents coming up to the stall to share stories and generally showing GHA that Glasgow is supporting the campaign for better social housing, whether it is in Possil, Parkhead or Pollokshields.
The two groups have called a national demonstration on the 24th of September in Glasgow to show that the people of Scotland want and are in need of safe, secure, dry and affordable social housing and demand respect for their communities and themselves from the people who are meant to be working for them.
Isn’t it time that something changed?
Tenants and the STO are now calling a national demonstration, on the 24th of September, to demand investment in public sector housing.
Quote:
* We demand steel doors for Hamiltonhill. We demand real investment.
* We demand an end to unnecessary demolitions.
* We demand an end to the failed policy of stock transfer.
* We demand an end to write to buy. We demand debt write-off for local authorities, to give council a level playing field.
* We demand that public sector housing is an option of choice. We demand respect, in Hamiltonhill, across Scotland.
Let’s say it loud and clear, “Scotland’s for Council Housing!”
See you on Thursday the 24th of September, in Glasgow.
[Details to follow soon. Please get in touch if you hope to attend: agahst2003[AT]hotmail.com, hamiltonhillaction[AT]googlemail.com]
Over a month has passed since the Action Group registered their official request but GHA has been deathly silent despite follow up correspondence from the Group and residents. Even according to their own agenda and targets of responding to resident’s requests and correspondence the GHA have failed. Considering a colossal 50% of the budget is spent on administration, surely it can’t be an issue of not having enough people to answer the phones?!
GHA have shown themselves to be unconcerned for their tenants health and safety, consistently ignoring demands for investment to be made to improve the quality of social housing in the area. However, Hamiltonhill has been subject to a systematic programme of neglect by GHA and Glasgow City Council, prior to it being earmarked for demolition in 2008 and as a local resident said:-
“We have stayed here 9 years, and our door always opens when you press the service button, at any time. They don’t think there is anything wrong with that.”
Having publicised their situation throughout and beyond Glasgow, Hamiltonhill Action Group have now gained the support of the Scottish Tenants Organisation as well as neighbouring estates giving further signs of solidarity and support. The Action Group are holding a weekly stall immediately outside GHA headquarters and have made contact with several other resident’s groups in Glasgow. There have also been a large number of unaffiliated social housing residents coming up to the stall to share stories and generally showing GHA that Glasgow is supporting the campaign for better social housing, whether it is in Possil, Parkhead or Pollokshields.
The two groups have called a national demonstration on the 24th of September in Glasgow to show that the people of Scotland want and are in need of safe, secure, dry and affordable social housing and demand respect for their communities and themselves from the people who are meant to be working for them.
Isn’t it time that something changed?
Tenants and the STO are now calling a national demonstration, on the 24th of September, to demand investment in public sector housing.
Quote:
* We demand steel doors for Hamiltonhill. We demand real investment.
* We demand an end to unnecessary demolitions.
* We demand an end to the failed policy of stock transfer.
* We demand an end to write to buy. We demand debt write-off for local authorities, to give council a level playing field.
* We demand that public sector housing is an option of choice. We demand respect, in Hamiltonhill, across Scotland.
Let’s say it loud and clear, “Scotland’s for Council Housing!”
See you on Thursday the 24th of September, in Glasgow.
[Details to follow soon. Please get in touch if you hope to attend: agahst2003[AT]hotmail.com, hamiltonhillaction[AT]googlemail.com]
treehugger76
e-mail:
hamiltonhillaction@googlemail.com
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Hamiltonhill doors
15.09.2009 15:04
Patrick Grimley
Media
15.09.2009 19:59
In the meantime tenants have seen no significant investment. Streets have been left boarded up, but many still live in the area. There is constant speculation about what's happening to the scheme.
In recent months however tenants have started to come together on the estate to fight for investment and to demand that tenants are treated with respect. A poster campaign was followed with a community survey. The survey group asked their neighbours their priorities for change in the area. From this a programme has emerged for the new Hamiltonhill Action Group.
The group’s first action was to survey the close doors in the neighbourhood. With nearly half of all close doors found by the group to be broken or vandalised tenants wrote to the GHA to demand immediate action. 17 repairs were understood to have been carried out. Many have since been broken once more, so tenants are demanding that steel "secured by design"
doors are fitted on the estate.
In a letter to the Chief Executive of the GHA the action group demand a timetable for the doors to be fitted by the end of August.
Embattled tenants have told the Angel that they will “draw steel from Granite” (a reference to the headquarters of the GHA, the city’s giant landlord). Unless the Group’s demands are met by the end of the month campaign organizers for
the Group will take their campaign to the Scottish Tenants Organisation. The Angel understands that plans for a “very robust response” are now being put into motion. “They will rue the day they ignored Hamiltonhill!” The Action Group states, summarising their position.
Link to ISSUE 14:
Hamiltonhill Action
e-mail:
hamiltonhillaction@googlemail.com
Homepage:
http://www.news.scottishtenants.org.uk