Regeneration or social cleansing?

Four years ago parts of the Smithdown and Kensington areas of Liverpool were designated as regeneration areas. £62m government funding known as New Deal for Communities funding was given to the areas which encompass approximately 4,000 houses were 13,000 people live.

Background information:

Firstly, there isn’t much that can be done by ordinary folk to stop what is happening here in Liverpool’s Kensington and Smithdown New Deal for Communities area. It seems to be unending injustice perpetrated on the many by the few who think that what they say is beyond any argument. The senior council officers, the regeneration administrators and the thirty or forty community cronies who always arise up in any poor socially deprived community and collaborate with the service providers who in turn path the way for the rich property developers such as Bellway Homes and Lovell’s.

The voice of decent is stifled:

The decision to destroy this community through unnecessary mass demolition was made long before the NDC funding was awarded to the community. Over half of the houses that will be demolished were rented properties owned mainly by housing association or Registered Social Landlords (RSL’s) as they are now known. The Liverpool City Council, the RSL’s, the Government Quangos and the plethora of useless agencies that coexist with the latter are in effect selling the land that rented RSL, council, private landlord and homeowner properties once stood on to rich property developer and builders can build thousands of houses mostly for sale and shared ownership. Over a long period of time using the art of gradualism all of these oppressive agencies have put many oppressive and undemocratic structures into place to stifle the voice of decent within communities.

The police stand off and give local criminals the freedom to do as they please

The police don’t care about the escalating crime and are standing off whilst a crime wave takes place, especially within the Edge Hill area of the New Deal zone where six or seven hundreds terraced houses are due for demolition in the first phases of this demolition derby. This stand off by the police is happening in all the areas where the old terraced housing has been designated by the Eastern Link team and the New Heartland’s team for mass demolition. This is obviously being done to encourage the stalwart homeowners who are refusing to except their CPO’s to pack up and leave.


Are criminals involved in the regeneration game?

Are local government agencies indirectly using criminals to silence community members who speak out against the way regeneration agencies are behaving within their communities? Are they also being used to discourage the 87 homeowners who have refused to accept the Compulsory Purchase Orders, which have been issued to demolish their homes?

Let’s take a closer look at what is happening in Liverpool’s £62m New Deal for Communities initiative, which covers a large part of the Edge Hill and Kensington areas of Liverpool. Presently these areas are experiencing a massive crime wave.

Below is a link to the guardian newspaper. Even though this article is a year old things have not improved in many of the 39 NDC areas. In fact things have worsened considerably:

 http://society.guardian.co.uk/regeneration/story/0,7940,1191065,00.html

The people who run the city:

Who’s really behind the running of Liverpool? Below is a link to a list of most of the people who are responsible for running the City of Liverpool. Some senior officers of the city council, such as the £110,000 per year regeneration senior officer Charlie Parker, are not on the list

These are the people and clergy who I term as the dominant culture at local government level. The main objective of these people is to path the way for rich property developers and big business to come into Liverpool and Merseyside and impose their agendas onto the city and onto our communities.

There are a couple of interesting things to note when observing this list. One particular issue took my notice. The Government’s Office for Merseyside (because of Liverpool’s turbulent political past central government has decided to place itself in the city in Cunard Buildings at the Pier Head) senior civil servant who is connected with the Kensington New Deal initiative is a lady called Liz Gill. Her husband Jim Gill just happens to be the Chief Executive of Liverpool Vision ( http://www.liverpoolvision.co.uk/teamb.html).

The North West Development Agency, English Partnerships and the Liverpool City Council fund Liverpool Vision. The staff at Vision are probably under similar terms of employment as city council staff, which would means Jim Gill could earn somewhere in the region of £110,000 per year.

Many of the people who are behind what goes on in Liverpool:

The “Liverpool Partnership Group.” This bunch of people are the elitist dominant culture that run the City of Liverpool and also have a large say in what in what happens right across the whole region of Merseyside:

 http://www.liverpoolfirst.org/Doc/Mins%20LFB%20LPG%20Mtg%204-11-03.doc

Merseyside is one of the nine New Heartland’s pathfinder areas chosen by central government for mass demolition. All of the areas in Merseyside, which have been chosen under the New Heartland’s initiative, are at present experiencing a massive crime wave. The Liverpool Echo is constantly reporting crimes of arson and aggravated burglary within the areas, which have been, chosen for mass demolition.

Crime wave in the Pathfinder communities:

The New Deal Police:

As far as can be ascertained there are only two New Deal for Communities police officers (A sergeant and a PC) who are being paid for by the New Deal for Communities funding. In effect these police officers are on secondment from Merseyside Police to the NDC area and as such are being paid for by the community. In my opinion these police officers are really being used as a public relation stunt to make it look like the NDC initiative is working when in reality there is a massive crime wave-wave taking place in the area.

It is trumpeted on the Liverpool Kensington NDC web site quote: The New Deal police tackle various problematic issues in the area such as anti-social behaviour, and is committed to responding to emergencies within ten minutes.

Web Site link:  http://www.kensingtonregeneration.com/kensington-directory/listings.html Go to Kensington New Deal police team.

As far as I am aware the New Deal police are very really seen in the community and it is almost impossible to get in touch with them by phone. When you ring their number it is always answered by an answering machine. The only time I have seen these smiling police officers is at public venues where the New Deal administrators frantically try to make it look like everything in the New Deal area is wonderful. I have personally stopped attending these venues because of the deceptive picture that they try to portray, in fact at the last one I attended there was only about thirty or forty people there and they where mainly administrators and community cronies.

Reported and none reported crime incidents:

Cats horrifically killed and hung above the high streets in the Kensington New Deal for community’s area, an area that is just across the road from where the 87 demolition homeowners who are refusing to accept CPO’s live:

 http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=15322025%26method=full%26siteid=50061-name_page.html

Gun crime:

Young guy executed in the street:

 http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=12461071%26method=full%26siteid=50061-name_page.html

Petrol bombings:

This family’s house was petrol bombed. The house was just across the road from where 171 new houses will be built on former publicly owned land by the wealthy builders known as Lovell’s. Only 41 of these houses (which will be owned by C7) will be built for rent:

 http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=15419003%26method=full%26siteid=50061-name_page.html

Edge Hill train station:

 http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=14356044%26method=full%26siteid=50061-name_page.html

Chatsworth Drive right on the fringe of the New Deal area:

 http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=13588579%26method=full%26siteid=50061-name_page.html

Wavertree is just across the road from Edge Hill:

 http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=14997682%26method=full%26siteid=50061-name_page.html

The Prescot Road car wash is right on the fringe of the New Deal for Communities area:

 http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=14597397%26method=full%26siteid=50061-name_page.html

Crimes not reported or not available on Liverpool Echo web site:

· Elizabeth P. Aggravated burglary. Elizabeth P as well as being one of the 87 demolition homeowner who are refusing to except CPO’s which have been served upon them is also an ardent campaigner against the Kensington Regeneration and all the other agencies that work with KNDC, such as: The New Heartlands team, the North West Regional Development agency and the Liverpool Land Development agency. Elizabeth P along with 86 other homeowners, who have been told that their homes are going to be demolished, have decided not to except their CPO’s and are now on a war footing with the Liverpool City Council and the above agencies. Since this NDC project came into our community Elizabeth has had her front door battered down at 4 am in the morning. The criminals held her at knifepoint and stole practically nothing. Elizabeth has also had her car smashed to pieces on at least four occasions. Elizabeth even caught teenagers attacking her car on camera and the local police lost the video (how convenient).

· Community member and friend of Elizabeth P, Omar, had his car turned upside down outside his house in broad daylight. The police came and did nothing.

· Mike Lane, community activist and campaigner against the NDC initiative, the city council, Riverside Housing and Community 7 was nearly kidnapped or mugged and had his car petrol bombed outside his flat. It has been three months since this happened to me and even though my housing association Venture, Riverside Housing and Community 7 have put me onto a tenant harassment list, which means I am supposed to have priority to be moved out of the area, I have not been made one offer by Riverside or C7 and Venture have offered me a couple of places which have been totally unsuitable because they where only a stones throw from where I now live. This surely proves that housing association staff cares nothing about the safety of their tenants, especially activist tenants who campaign for the rights of other tenants and against the oppressive behaviour of housing association senior staff.

· Six Chinese students held at knifepoint in their student accommodation. Again, just like in Elizabeth P’s case practically nothing was stolen.

· Community 7 board member had her car petrol bombed outside her house.

If the police where to give information on all the crime that is taking place in and around the New Deal area it would be staggering. Many people believe that the police are deliberately standing off and letting this crime wave take place. Some residents even believe that all of the service providers mentioned above are indirectly involved with local criminals. This is being allowed to happen so as to further discourage demolition homeowners who are refusing to accept their CPO’s to accept them and move out.

In fact if you take a closer look at all the four areas, Anfield, Bootle Dingle and Kensington Edge Hill, which have been chosen by the New Heartland team you will observe that a crime wave exists in all of them.

CCTV cameras:

Most of the CCTV cameras which have been installed in these areas have been out of action for months because they are continually vandalised by drug pushers and local criminals and no attempt has been made to stop them from being further vandalised. It matters littler anyway because even when they where working nobody was monitoring them and they where recording nothing.

The Community 7 wardens who patrol the New Deal area:

There are about fifteen community wardens patrolling the Kensington New Deal for Communities area and they work for the RSL known as Community 7. Community 7 strives to portray itself as an autonomous body, but in reality they are a subsidiary of massive Riverside Housing group.

From the onset of the community wardens coming into the New Deal area concerns were voiced by community activists about the issue of whom the wardens should be employed by. The majority of community activist at the time felt that the wardens should have been employed by the City Council. But in spite of these protestations the New Deal for Communities board went ahead with the councils and Riverside’s proffered option of the wardens being employed by Community 7. I believe that this was a grave error in as much as, Community 7 although claiming to be a charitable organisation, it is in reality run like a private sector agency with it main aim being sustainable through profit, whereas the city council is owned by the public and as such is a publicly owned entity. I also believe that wardens should not work within the areas in which they live. At present it seems to be a preferred option by the city council and the RSL’s that the wardens should petrol the areas in which they live.

Why wardens should not patrol in areas where they live:

· Criminal elements within the areas know where the wardens live
· Wardens can be open to intimidation by criminal families
· Wardens can spread gossip about community activists
· Wardens could be open to corruption
· People could be scared to speak with wardens
· Many people in the community might not trust the wardens because they work for Community 7
· Some people see them potentially as an oppressive force within the community
· Most people believe that they are impotent mainly because they go off duty at 10 pm
· Police on the cheap web page links:

 http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=196952004

 http://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/oxfordshire/archive/2005/02/04/NEWS0ZM.html

 http://www.janes.com/security/law_enforcement/news/pr/pr010315_n_5.shtml

 http://www.thisisessex.co.uk/essex/archive/2001/11/26/news96.D_26_11_01_rn_54_h_ColchesterPurfleetBasildonWardens_scheme_olicing_on_cheapZM.html

The subjugation of a community:

What we are witnessing here in this New Deal zone is the classical methodology used by a hand full of local and central government civil servants to oppress and subjugate a whole community. This oppressive methodology is not something that has recently been designed, it has evolved over many years and surely proves beyond any doubt how oppressive local government council officers and other service providers, such as community outreach agencies, consultants and housing associations actually are. The residents have no say in what is happening here. Structures have been put into place to silence the voice of dissent and it would seem that the criminal fraternity within the area and from outside is being used, if only indirectly, to further silence that voice. The minority service providers and their sub oppressor resident community cronies leave no stone unturned when it comes to stifling the unification of the wider community. Their hegemonic position must be maintained at any cost, even if it involves violence.

Community led:

The initiative was supposed to be community led, but on close observation there are in reality only 30 to 40 community members involved and that includes the 10 resident board members who make up New Deal board of about 23 board members. The 13 service providers who make up the board can always outvote the resident board members. But that matters little anyway, because at least 4 of the 10 resident board members always side with the service providers who’s main task is to facilitate outside vested interests agendas onto the unsuspecting community.

The New Deal administrators have always portrayed community participation as a success when in reality it is practically non-existent. From the onset of the initiative structures were never put into place to encourage community participation on a wider scale within the NDC community. The service providers have always stifled the unification of the wider community because in reality the unification of the wider community would represent a threat to the hegemonic position of the service providers (who are in a minority group) and to the agendas of outside vested interests.

Senior council officer run the show:

The accountable body for the initiative is the Liverpool City Council’s Regeneration Department, which is headed by the £110,000 to £120,000 per year senior council officer Charley Parker, who is assisted by the executive member (councillor) for regeneration Peter Millea.

Divide and rule:

Liverpool has been divided into 30 different local government constituencies and three councillors represent each one of those constituencies. Liverpool’s population is approximately 740,000 people. The political body that runs the council are the Liberal Democrats. Many of the regeneration agencies, including the 36 New Deal administrators, are accountable to the council and under council terms of employment.

Unnecessary demolition:

The real reason behind Kensington and Edge Hill being awarded this New Deal funding was to use the money to cajole by stealth and gradualism the community into accepting mass demolition. Although the city council and the other service providers mentioned above have stated that around 1,000 houses and shops will be demolished but it is believed by concerned residents that eventually over 2,000 houses and shops will be demolished.

The people who are working to achieve these unnecessary demolitions are:

The Government’s New Heartlands team consists of 7 administrators who are based in the Liverpool City Centre. The managing director of the New Heartland’s team Pauline Davies is on record as stating: “This isn’t a housing renewal programme, it is a market renewal programme. The New heartlands team are accountable to the Liverpool City Council and work in partnership with the Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs), the North West Development Agency, English Partnerships and the Eastern Link team, which consists of 14 council officers who are based in Blackmoore Drive Huyton. All of these agencies are involved with the issuing of CPO’s to homeowners in those parts of Liverpool, which have been chosen for mass demolition of terraced housing.

Link to Liverpool City Council web site with maps and information about who will be affected by this New Heartland’s initiative:

 http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/Housing/Housing_strategy/Housing_Market_Renewal_Initiative/Who_will_be_affected/index.asp

 http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/Housing/Housing_strategy/Housing_Market_Renewal_Initiative/index.asp

The people who run the city:

Who’s really behind the running of Liverpool? Below is a link to a list of most of the people who are responsible for running the City of Liverpool. Some senior officers of the city council, such as the £110,000 per year regeneration senior officer Charlie Parker, are not on the list These are the people and clergy who I term as the dominant culture at local government level. The main objective of these people is to path the way for rich property developers and big business to come into Liverpool and Merseyside and impose their agendas onto the city and onto our communities. There are a couple of interesting thing to note when observing this list. One particular thing took my notice. The Government’s Office for Merseyside (because of Liverpool’s turbulent political past central government has decided to place itself in the city in Cunard Buildings at the Pier Head) senior civil servant who is responsible for overseeing the Kensington New Deal initiative is a lady called Liz Gill. Her husband Jim Gill just happens to be the Chief Executive of Liverpool Vision ( http://www.liverpoolvision.co.uk/teamb.html). The North West Development Agency, English Partnerships and the Liverpool City Council fund Liverpool Vision. The staff at Vision are probably under similar terms of employment as city council staff, which would means Jim Gill could earn somewhere in the region of £110,000 per year.

As previously mentioned. The Liverpool Partnership Group

 http://www.liverpoolfirst.org/Doc/Mins%20LFB%20LPG%20Mtg%204-11-03.doc

Links to just some of the agencies who are behind what is happening here in the Liverpool Kensington New Deal area:

New Heartlands web site:  http://www.newheartlands.co.uk/

· Liverpool Vision

Link to Vision web site. Take a look at the board. All members of the dominant culture in Liverpool’s civic society
:
 http://www.liverpoolvision.co.uk/

· Rope Walks

Link to Liverpool Echo articles about corruption at this city council led regeneration agency. Mysteriously this investigation was closed with no action taken by the European Commission:

 http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=15117345&method=full&siteid=50061&headline=labour-leader-s-anger-over-rope-walks-decision-delay-name_page.html

· Grosvenor Henderson. Headed by the Duke of Westminster

Take a look at Grosvenor Henderson’s accounts on web site link:

 http://www.europe-re.com/system/main.php?pageid=1001&articleid=4333
and  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/uk_news/england/2283714.stm

· Bellway Homes. Property Developers

Web site link to Bellway homes which describes what they are up to in the New Deal areas of Edge Hill and Kensington:

 http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/News/archive/2004/october/news0918.asp

· Riverside Housing now known as the Riverside Group

Link to Riverside’s web. Take a look at how many subsidiaries they own:

 http://www.riverside.org.uk/riverside/riversideg/default.asp?id=47

· Lovell’s. Construction

Link to Lovell’s web site:  http://www.lovell.co.uk/

Lovell’s are working with the Riverside Housing Group and in “partnership” with the Liverpool City Council. They are now involved in redeveloping former public land that council houses once stood on. Already thousands of council houses have been transferred to the plethora of subsidiaries, which are owned by large Housing Associations now known as Registered Social Landlords (RSL’s), the Riverside Group is the largest RSL in Merseyside owning approximately 22,000 houses in and around the northwest region. Lovell’s are the contractors that have been chosen to build houses in a sector of the Liverpool Kensington New Deal for Communities area known as the Gilead Street area. Lovell’s web site is very sparse and contains hardly any meaningful information as to what they are up to.

Above are just a few of the agencies and property developers. In reality there are dozens of them and as well as getting their hands on as much government funding as possible they are also getting the lions share of European Objective One funding. As the proverbial saying goes: “The community only gets the crumbs that are left on the
table.”

Conclusion:

In conclusion it would seem that there is a definite repressive methodology or paradigm that has been, through the clever use of gradualism, put into place to encourage most of the community to leave the area so that the above dominant culture can demolish half of the area and build thousands of new houses mainly for sale. This is being allowed to take place and is being initiated by local and central government in spite of the fact that because of the massive rise in house prices homelessness is on the increase. An average mortgage over twenty five years now costs somewhere in the region of £700 to £900 per month this surely indicates that more housing should be built in the social housing sector, yet central government with the full backing of local government marches on with its crazy market led New Heartland’s initiative.