Residents of the Clapham Park Estate learned that the transfer of their 1,965 council homes from Lambeth Council to Clapham Park Homes had completed. The transfer should release a total investment package of around £450 million, including a £20 million grant from the Housing Corporation for new affordable housing and £28 million from the New Deal for Communities. The rest of the money is being raised by Clapham Park Homes through building homes for sale, and using the proceeds for investment in Clapham Park.
The investment will see half the estate being refurbished to bring it some way above the Government's Decent Homes standard. There are plans for the other half of the estate to be replaced by new state-of-the-art homes.
There will also be a new park, other community facilities and there are plans for a new primary school. Proposals also include shared ownership schemes and a number of properties that are specially adapted for people with special needs.
The transfer had been threatened by a resident living near the estate, who had made an application for Judicial Review. This was considered at the High Court and the Judge rejected the residents' argument that the transfer was unlawful.
Tower Hamlets Council wrote to the Department for Communities and Local Government, demanding the completion of the 2,000 homes on its Parkside Estate by 16 June 2006. The transfer had been narrowly supported by a majority of just seven tenants and anti-transfer campaigners had threatened to take the Government to Judicial Review over it. This is believed to have contributed to the delay in completing the transfer, which was originally scheduled for February 2006.
Opposition Labour councillors on Salisbury Council were successful in gaining access to the addresses of all council-owned homes. The Group had put in three requests for this information, with the Council moving towards the stock transfer of its 5,400 homes. A tenant ballot is expected in October 2006. The move followed a similar request to Mid Devon Council, which was supported in a ruling by the Freedom of Information Commissioner.