Why sense of community is important: the recent slavery case

Following the recent news about 3 women kept against their will for 30 years in the house of an elderly couple in Brixton, it raises concerns and questions: was there anything that could have been done to prevent it? If yes, then what?

In big and diverse cities like London it has become common to live for years without knowing our neighbours. Many of us find it easier to just ‘mind our own business’ rather than mixing and socializing with people as it requires more effort. But maybe sometimes we shouldn't ‘mind just our own business’ and be more open to our neighbours, our community and people in general.

The neighbours of the responsible couple were shocked to find out what has actually been going on under their nose for so many years. They never suspected anything and didn’t have even a tiniest clue about such a cruelty in their neighbourhood. It is evident, that this was the case of ‘minding their own business’. If the whole neighbourhood and community in Brixton were closer, it is much likelier that the neighbours of the culprits’ would have suspected that something was not right and maybe we wouldn't be reading about this story only now, after 30 years.

There has to be more focus on bringing local communities and people together. That’s what NeighbourBlog aims to achieve. Of course, it didn't exist 30 years ago when the women first lost their freedom, but it may be a starting point to prevent similar events from happening in the future. It is designed with YOU and YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD in mind.

London is a property developers' paradise. And ordinary people are being priced out

Tower blocks, once considered an evil social experiment foisted by bureaucrats and architects on the working classes, are being built at a rapid rate in London today. They're not called that any more, obviously – they're apartments, residences, stunning developments or luxury living solutions – and they lack the things that tower blocks used to have, such as open space, double-aspect flats, lots of storage space or low rents. But residential, tower-shaped buildings are, after a short gap from 2009-2012, rising. On the Isle of Dogs, the 74-storey Hertsmere Tower has just been unveiled by the Irish developer Tom Ryan, which will actually be taller than the adjacent office blocks of Canary Wharf. Given that London is in the middle of a housing crisis, with rents rising as fast as they were during the boom, an argument might well be made that this could ease the problem. The simplistic call of "build more homes!" appearing on both benches of parliament, is visibly being answered, as the cranes from Vauxhall to Woolwich erect the latest concrete-framed high rise. Is all this conspicuous construction going to solve London's housing problem?

The answer is yes, if you think that the crisis is undersupply of buy-to-let flats aimed at the affluent, but no, if you entertain the notion that the crisis might be one of rising rents, pressure on social and council housing and its tenants and rampant gentrification. None of these towers are social, affordable or (obviously) council housing, but explicitly for private renters. Naturally, their defenders might say, these things cost public money, and in this time of heightened austerity we have to let the market sort it out for us. So you might be surprised to find that these towers are being specifically encouraged by the government, and are often in receipt of rather large sums of state subsidy. The government recently introduced, along with Help to Buy to encourage homeowners, a scheme called Build to Rent, which offers loans or equity to "a varied mix of developers" to build private homes to be sold at market rents. Some 43 developers have already applied for the scheme, and £1bn is being allocated for this purpose. Several housing associations in the north of England that were initially keen to sign up to the scheme have pulled out, citing regulations that require that the Homes and Communities Agency receives annual returns on their investment, something which is hardly certain with social renting. It's becoming clear that this is basically an equity scheme for yuppie flats, underwritten by the state at preferential terms.

It's doubtful they'll be funnelling money towards a developer like Tom Ryan and his Canary Wharf skyscraper, as they cater for millionaires rather than the merely upwardly mobile; but dozens of more mundane developers are getting money from Build to Rent already. One recipient is Genesis Housing Association. Its delightfully named Stratford Halo, a few stops away on the DLR, was not built with Build to Rent funds but is representative of the sort of development the scheme was set up to fund. It has a rent of £1,700 per month for a two-bedroom flat. In order for this to qualify as "affordable", (defined by Shelter as 35% of income), a family would have to be earning £76,000 a year.

This is what made it a target for Let Down, a group bringing together several tenants' rights organisations across London, who occupied the Halo on Saturday, by posing as potential tenants – as one of them pointed out, "in order to be allowed to view this publicly subsidised zone 3 flat, four of us had to pretend to have an annual income of more than £150,000". On seizing the tower for a day, they unfurled banners across it, one of which reads "£90m public fund for unaffordable housing scheme".

As always, the invisible hand is being given a great deal of help in London, with the current demographic shift where the rich move in and the poor move out encouraged first by the restrictions on council tenure, then by the bedroom tax, and now by a fund being thrown at private developers. The Hertsmere Tower is the more obviously gross part of this equation, its most luxurious end, towering over a borough with 23,000 people on its waiting list, where neighbouring social housing such as Balfron Tower and Robin Hood Gardens are both being prepared for a better class of resident. This isn't happening automatically, inexorably or accidentally – it's public policy. Londoners are literally paying for the transformation of their city into a property developer's paradise.

The original article can be found here: 

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/18/london-property-developers-paradise

What are your views?

Where to live in London

          Areas listed by price:

Very expensive	Less expensive	Cheaper	Best avoided
Belsize Park	Hammersmith	Merton	Harlesden
St.John’s Wood	Ealing	Raynes Park	White City
Maida Vale	Fulham	Tooting	Stockwell
Marylebone	Putney	Charlton	Camberwell
Pimlico	Clapham	Bethnal Green	Brixton
Kensington	Battersea	Bow	Peckham
Chelsea	Wandsworth	Stratford	New Cross
Primrose Hill	Balham	Plaistow	Elephant and Castle
Notting Hill	Streatham	Stoke Newington	Canning Town
Chiswick	Wimbledon	East Clapton	Woolwich
Richmond	Anerley	Forest Gate
Barnes	Penge	Leyton
Kew	Sydenham	Shepherd’s Bush
	Crystal Palace	Acton
	Dulwich	Willesden
	East Dulwich
	Greenwich
	Blackheath
	Docklands
	Islington
	Crouch End
	Muswell Hill
	Hornsey
	Highgate
	Finchley
	Cricklewood
	Kilburn
	West Hampstead

If you are a young professional:

          Clapham / Battersea, 
          Earl’s Court, 
          Bayswater, 
          Kentish Town / Camden, 
          Angel ,
          Borough, 
          Shoreditch, 
          Fulham, 
          Putney, 
          Wandsworth, 
          Streatham, 
          East Dulwich, 
          the Docklands, 
          Tower Bridge, 
          Aldgate,
          Bethnal Green.

 If you have a family: Crystal Palace, Muswell Hill, Crouch End, Kilburn, Sydenham, Penge,Dulwich,

Most desired areas in London

This list was compiled by Sunday Times and ‘takes into account including transport links, quality of schools, natural beauty, low crime rate, property prices, cultural life and unemployment figures’. It was published in March 2013 and currently is most up-to-date.

1. Richmond 

2. Chiswick 

3. Dulwich 

4. Balham 

5. Muswell Hill 

Visiting London

      Are you visiting London for the first time? Would like to see its most popular attractions?

 Here are the top 10 must-see places:

·        British Museum

The British Museum was founded in 1753, the first national public museum in the world. From the beginning it granted free admission to all 'studious and curious persons'. Visitor numbers have grown from around 5,000 a year in the eighteenth century to nearly 6 million today.

·        Tate Modern

Tate holds the national collection of British art from 1500 to the present day and international modern and contemporary art.The collection embraces all media, from painting, drawing, sculpture and prints to photography, video and film, installation and performance.

·        National Gallery

The National Gallery houses the national collection of Western European painting from the 13th to the 19th centuries. It is on show 361 days a year, free of charge.

·        Natural History Museum

The national museum of natural history. Major research and teaching collections cover botany, entomology, mineralogy, palaeontology and zoology.

·        London Eye

At 135m, the EDF Energy London Eye is the world’s largest cantilevered observation wheel. It was conceived and designed by Marks Barfield Architects and was launched in 2000. It has already won over 85 awards for national and international tourism, outstanding architectural quality and engineering achievement.

·        Science Museum

London museum and library of science. Exhibitions cover all areas of science and technology. Includes online exhibits and a learning area.

·        Victoria and Albert Museum

The Victoria and Albert Museum is the world's greatest museum of art and design.

·        Madame Tussauds

Millions and millions of people have flocked through the doors of Madame Tussauds since they first opened over 200 years ago and it remains just as popular as it ever was. There are many reasons for this enduring success, but at the heart of it all is good, old-fashioned curiosity. Today’s visitors are sent on a unique, emotionally-charged journey through the realms of the powerful and famous. The museum-style ropes and poles have gone so guests can truly get up, close and personal with A-list celebrities, sporting legends, political heavyweights and historical icons, reliving the times, events and moments that made the world talk about them….

·        Royal Museums Greenwich

The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich consists of the Maritime Galleries, theRoyal Observatory and the 17th-century Queen's House.

·        Tower of London

Despite the Tower of London's grim reputation as a place of torture and death, within these walls you will also discover the history of a royal palace, an armoury and a powerful fortress. Don’t miss Royal Beasts and learn about the wild and wonderous animals that have inhabited the Tower, making it the first London Zoo.

Neighbourhood watch groups in London

London is divided into 32 boroughs throughout inner and outer parts of the capital. Although each borough has a council that deals with various community and resident matters, there are numerous Neighbourhood Watch organizations that operate either in different areas or specifically in certain streets or blocks of flats. Here are a few examples:

·         Ridley Avenue Residents Association & Neighbourhood Watch

·         Hillingdon Neighbourhood Watch

·         Newham Neighbourhood Watch Association

·         Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association

·         Chelmsford & Derby Neighbourhood Watch

·         Clapham Town Neighbourhood Watch

·         Galloway Road Neighbourhood Watch

How to be a good neighbour?

Whether you have new neighbours moving in or you are the one who is moving, these few tips will help you to establish a better relationship with your neighbours.

Consider your neighbours’ lifestyle.

Try to find out as much information as possible about their habits, profession,free time,etc. Additionally, you can inform them about yours and suggest contact you if they are not happy with some of your habits,pets,children,etc.

Be aware of shared walls.

It is a good idea to keep TVs,speakers and other loud electronics away from shared walls.

Control your pets.

Always make sure your pets do not bother neighbours in any way.

Alert your neighbours to parties.

If you are going to hold a big and noisy party at home, make sure to warn your neighbours about that. Or better- invite them too!

Keep your garden tidy.

Weeds in your yard may spread into your neighbour’s yard, so mow your lawn regularly and keep your flowers, trees and bushes trimmed appropriately.

Practice parking etiquette.

Be sure not to block anyone’s access or make them have to pull out of a very tight spot.

Neighbours' issues and solving them

   

It would be impossible to list all possible neighbours’ disputes as they widely depend on every individual, but here are some of the most common reasons that come in the way between neighbours:

·         Noise

·         Parking space

·         Trees

·         Boundaries, fences and walls

·         Amenities which are shared

·         CCTV

·         Children

·         Hedges

  Dealing with neighbours’ disputes

It is always advisable to try to solve neighbours’ disputes peacefully,however, that is not always possible. If you already have tried talking and negotiating with your neighbours, but unsuccessfully, you may try the following options:

·         Contact the landlord
·         Call the police
·         Contact the environmental health department
·         Contact the planning department
·         Consult a solicitor/take court action
·         Moving home