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| Walthamstow stadium: "This is not over," pledges Duncan Smith as campaign turns fire on Boris | Walthamstow stadium: "This is not over," pledges Duncan Smith as campaign turns fire on Boris |
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| Work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith in his capacity as MP for Chingford and Woodford Green will on Tuesday meet his cabinet colleague Eric Pickles, the communities and local government (CLG) secretary, for urgent discussions about the fate of the famous Walthamstow greyhound racing stadium amid claims that Boris Johnson has misled Londoners about the viability of a controversial scheme to redevelop the site, and that officials in Pickles's department colluded with the London Borough of Waltham Forest to prevent Pickles using his powers to intervene. | Work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith in his capacity as MP for Chingford and Woodford Green will on Tuesday meet his cabinet colleague Eric Pickles, the communities and local government (CLG) secretary, for urgent discussions about the fate of the famous Walthamstow greyhound racing stadium amid claims that Boris Johnson has misled Londoners about the viability of a controversial scheme to redevelop the site, and that officials in Pickles's department colluded with the London Borough of Waltham Forest to prevent Pickles using his powers to intervene. |
| Duncan Smith will be accompanied to Tuesday's meeting by the area's other local MP, Labour's Stella Creasy, to make a joint request that Pickles examines a trail of alleged irregularities in the progress of the plans and looks at its full financial history. | Duncan Smith will be accompanied to Tuesday's meeting by the area's other local MP, Labour's Stella Creasy, to make a joint request that Pickles examines a trail of alleged irregularities in the progress of the plans and looks at its full financial history. |
| On Saturday, before delivering a rallying cry to a crowd of around 150 supporters of the Save Our Stow (SoS) campaign outside the stadium, which has been closed since August 2008, Duncan Smith said he was "aware that department officials tried to say that he shouldn't see me at all, which is a bit bizarre considering I'm a member of the cabinet. A lot of the people here feel there may have been collusion between the council and the department, with the department advising them to shut this down so that nobody could take a representation to the secretary of state." | On Saturday, before delivering a rallying cry to a crowd of around 150 supporters of the Save Our Stow (SoS) campaign outside the stadium, which has been closed since August 2008, Duncan Smith said he was "aware that department officials tried to say that he shouldn't see me at all, which is a bit bizarre considering I'm a member of the cabinet. A lot of the people here feel there may have been collusion between the council and the department, with the department advising them to shut this down so that nobody could take a representation to the secretary of state." |
| Members of the SoS campaign are using freedom of information requests to try to establish why Labour-controlled Waltham Forest, which in May approved plans by the site's owner the London and Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q), to build 294 homes, mostly for private sale, on the site made its decision final at the start of this month just two days after London Mayor Boris Johnson decided on 30 October not to use his own powers to block the scheme. | Members of the SoS campaign are using freedom of information requests to try to establish why Labour-controlled Waltham Forest, which in May approved plans by the site's owner the London and Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q), to build 294 homes, mostly for private sale, on the site made its decision final at the start of this month just two days after London Mayor Boris Johnson decided on 30 October not to use his own powers to block the scheme. |
| The borough's move formally closed the door on Pickles considering whether he wished to "call in" the plans for final determination, but it insists it has followed the correct process and had received no prior indications from Pickles that he might step in. However, a CLG statement last week described the borough as having taken its decision "unusually and unreasonably swiftly," adding that it was considering what action to take next. "There's been a terrible rush to get this through, which is not very democratic, and against the will of everybody here," said Duncan Smith. | The borough's move formally closed the door on Pickles considering whether he wished to "call in" the plans for final determination, but it insists it has followed the correct process and had received no prior indications from Pickles that he might step in. However, a CLG statement last week described the borough as having taken its decision "unusually and unreasonably swiftly," adding that it was considering what action to take next. "There's been a terrible rush to get this through, which is not very democratic, and against the will of everybody here," said Duncan Smith. |
| He also renewed his criticism of his fellow Tory Johnson, whose non-intervention he has described as a "bad decision" that had made him "absolutely furious" and betrayed a lack of leadership qualities on Johnson's part. "Boris came out within a day or so and said that these plans would break even," he said. "Well, no way in the world are they going to break even. I would love to know where he gets his information from." | He also renewed his criticism of his fellow Tory Johnson, whose non-intervention he has described as a "bad decision" that had made him "absolutely furious" and betrayed a lack of leadership qualities on Johnson's part. "Boris came out within a day or so and said that these plans would break even," he said. "Well, no way in the world are they going to break even. I would love to know where he gets his information from." |
| An independent assessment (pdf) of the scheme's viability commissioned by L&Q, a registered social landlord which receives government grant to help it build "affordable" homes, had concluded in July 2011 that the scheme would make a loss of £14.5m and leave L&Q unable to finance community improvements that the borough would seek from it. | An independent assessment (pdf) of the scheme's viability commissioned by L&Q, a registered social landlord which receives government grant to help it build "affordable" homes, had concluded in July 2011 that the scheme would make a loss of £14.5m and leave L&Q unable to finance community improvements that the borough would seek from it. |
| Johnson subsequently commissioned his own viability assessment, which concluded that the scheme, though it "cannot be regarded as being financially viable," was on course for a much smaller loss of £412,000. Campaigners believe this is what led Johnson to say he thought the scheme would break even, but argue that the calculation failed to take into account the £18m L&Q paid for the site in 2008. | Johnson subsequently commissioned his own viability assessment, which concluded that the scheme, though it "cannot be regarded as being financially viable," was on course for a much smaller loss of £412,000. Campaigners believe this is what led Johnson to say he thought the scheme would break even, but argue that the calculation failed to take into account the £18m L&Q paid for the site in 2008. |
| Duncan Smith said he thought, "the reality is a loss probably something nearer to £23m or £24m if they do the development as it is now planned. But it is not only the scale of the loss. I think it's outrageous that a social housing provider thinks it can just sit here and carry on with this when nobody wants it and there is another bid on the table for round about £16million, which would include the dog track, amenities and housing – everything that everybody wants – in the package." | Duncan Smith said he thought, "the reality is a loss probably something nearer to £23m or £24m if they do the development as it is now planned. But it is not only the scale of the loss. I think it's outrageous that a social housing provider thinks it can just sit here and carry on with this when nobody wants it and there is another bid on the table for round about £16million, which would include the dog track, amenities and housing – everything that everybody wants – in the package." |
| The alternative proposal is from a consortium that includes Bob Morton, a local millionaire businessman and dog-racing enthusiast but L&Q have consistently resisted his overtures to buy the site, which he's been making for four years. Duncan Smith said that the housing element of the consortium's plans would include homes for social rent. Such accommodation is entirely absent from L&Q's plans, which are for 294 homes of which just 20% would be at the more expensive "intermediate" end of the "affordable" range. | The alternative proposal is from a consortium that includes Bob Morton, a local millionaire businessman and dog-racing enthusiast but L&Q have consistently resisted his overtures to buy the site, which he's been making for four years. Duncan Smith said that the housing element of the consortium's plans would include homes for social rent. Such accommodation is entirely absent from L&Q's plans, which are for 294 homes of which just 20% would be at the more expensive "intermediate" end of the "affordable" range. |
| Duncan Smith claimed that L&Q weren't really interested in starting building quickly and would allow the Grade II-listed parts of the 1930s stadium, which currently must be preserved, to deteriorate before making a fresh application which would include knocking them down. He also rubbished Mayor Johnson's argument that had he blocked the scheme his decision would have been successfully challenged by L%Q: "Why would you challenge on a development you were never going to undertake? Do you honestly think they are ever going to develop this site? I am determined to fight this, absolutely. I'm going to ask the secretary of state to intervene. It's not finished, not until the first brick goes up." | Duncan Smith claimed that L&Q weren't really interested in starting building quickly and would allow the Grade II-listed parts of the 1930s stadium, which currently must be preserved, to deteriorate before making a fresh application which would include knocking them down. He also rubbished Mayor Johnson's argument that had he blocked the scheme his decision would have been successfully challenged by L%Q: "Why would you challenge on a development you were never going to undertake? Do you honestly think they are ever going to develop this site? I am determined to fight this, absolutely. I'm going to ask the secretary of state to intervene. It's not finished, not until the first brick goes up." |
| L&Q insists that its plans will work financially, and says it is "confident" that it will be able to fund promised community improvements, including a leisure centre. | |
| However, the residents and community association for the area has already instructed solicitors with a view to launching a judicial review. Its particular complaint is that the density and height of the homes L&Q wants to build is too great. It also feels that the consultation process was flawed and that local residents' views and concerns were ignored. | |
| The Save our Stow campaign too is looking at a legal challenge. Ricky Holloway of SoS says it will be funding by a combination of legal aid, free assistance from lawyers with experience of the greyhound industry and the campaign's own finances, bolstered by support from Bob Morton. "I think this has been a complete catalogue of errors from the start," Holloway said. "It's high time everyone involved was held to account." | |
| Update, 12 November. I've revised the last two paragraphs of this article to reflect the distinction between the Walthamstow Stadium Area Residents and Community Association and the Save Our Stow campaign, whose shared view is that the plans for stadium are inappropriate. |