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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jul/26/relief-as-labour-confirms-scrapping-of-controversial-hdv-housing-project
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Relief as Labour confirms scrapping of controversial HDV housing project | Relief as Labour confirms scrapping of controversial HDV housing project |
| (about 2 months later) | |
| Like virtually everyone else in the London borough of Haringey, the local Liberal Democrats were relieved to have formal confirmation at last week’s cabinet meeting that our Labour-controlled council will not proceed with the Haringey Development Vehicle and instead set up a council-owned housing company to develop homes. | Like virtually everyone else in the London borough of Haringey, the local Liberal Democrats were relieved to have formal confirmation at last week’s cabinet meeting that our Labour-controlled council will not proceed with the Haringey Development Vehicle and instead set up a council-owned housing company to develop homes. |
| As early as July 2017, Liberal Democrat councillors were warning that the HDV did not deliver enough genuinely affordable housing and involved too much financial risk. In early 2018, we called for the scheme to be scrapped and proposed a 100% council-owned housing company as an alternative, based on a similar model implemented in Lib Dem-run Sutton. In January, after Liberal Democrats had called for an extraordinary full council meeting, the national Labour party asked its local leadership in Haringey to pause the scheme. | As early as July 2017, Liberal Democrat councillors were warning that the HDV did not deliver enough genuinely affordable housing and involved too much financial risk. In early 2018, we called for the scheme to be scrapped and proposed a 100% council-owned housing company as an alternative, based on a similar model implemented in Lib Dem-run Sutton. In January, after Liberal Democrats had called for an extraordinary full council meeting, the national Labour party asked its local leadership in Haringey to pause the scheme. |
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| We can’t help feeling that had Labour listened earlier to the warning voices from the Lib Dem council group, the wider community, or even their own ranks, they would have spared Haringey taxpayers £2.5m of costs which could have been spent more wisely by a council dealing with huge cuts to local services. | We can’t help feeling that had Labour listened earlier to the warning voices from the Lib Dem council group, the wider community, or even their own ranks, they would have spared Haringey taxpayers £2.5m of costs which could have been spent more wisely by a council dealing with huge cuts to local services. |
| However, we need to look to the future. Few people will mourn the HDV, and the outsized financial risks and involvement of a controversial conglomerate that came with it. However, we can’t let its failure become an excuse for timidity when it comes to housebuilding. We have a serious housing supply crisis in Haringey. The Labour leader and his group need to move quickly to make sure that the wholly council-owned housing company can start delivering large numbers of homes, and soon.Cllr Dawn BarnesCouncillor for Crouch End ward, and Haringey Liberal Democrat spokesperson on housing | However, we need to look to the future. Few people will mourn the HDV, and the outsized financial risks and involvement of a controversial conglomerate that came with it. However, we can’t let its failure become an excuse for timidity when it comes to housebuilding. We have a serious housing supply crisis in Haringey. The Labour leader and his group need to move quickly to make sure that the wholly council-owned housing company can start delivering large numbers of homes, and soon.Cllr Dawn BarnesCouncillor for Crouch End ward, and Haringey Liberal Democrat spokesperson on housing |
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| Housing | Housing |
| Communities | Communities |
| Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats |
| Labour | Labour |
| London | London |
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