Homeless Village in Birmingham

Mark mark at tlio.org.uk
Thu Nov 6 14:17:33 GMT 2008


A protest camp named after Birmingham Councillor John Lines, who’s
responsible for the city’s housing, was established last Thursday on
derelict land owned by Birmingham City Council. Cllr. Lines has denied
there is a homeless problem in Birmingham and also denies there is money
available to build new ‘social housing’. The occupied land has been unused
for around seven years whilst there are over 30,000 people in the city
waiting for housing. The protest is against the Council holding on to land
that could be sold at a ‘friendly’ price to Housing associations thereby
allowing Housing Associations to draw up to £100m of grants to provide
‘social housing’. “At a cost of £50,000 per unit, the £100m could provide
around 2,000 homes” said one of the protesters. They claim the Council’s
approach is speculative - by holding onto unused land and buildings with a
view to selling them off to the highest commercial bidder.

See Full Report and pictures at:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/11/412302.html




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