Save our homes!

Submitted by Matthew on 7 February, 2018 - 2:13 Author: Luke Hardy

In Leeds, an entire working class community are threatened with their homes being demolished and replaced by homes they can’t afford.

The Wordsworth and Sugar Hill Estates on Oulton at the edge of Leeds are made up of seventy ex-National Coal Board houses. After the privatisation of the coal industry these houses were handed over to the Pemberstone Group. They are seeking planning permission to evict the tenants, knock down the housing and replace it with expensive commuter properties for sale.

Only 15% of which would be so called “affordable” homes. This will mean the loss of much needed truly affordable properties for rent and the almost certain displacement of the current tenants, who will be unable to find housing they can afford in the local area. The tenants have started a loud campaign against this called “LS26 Save Our Homes”.

They have had a demo alongside the NUM and they have put together model motions for Labour and the unions calling on Leeds City Council to protect the residents of the estate, to take over the properties from Pemberstone Ltd and to turn the homes into Council Housing stock which can be let to existing and future tenants on long term secure tenancies. This campaign needs to support in every Labour Party branch and union branch in the area. Not just for the people affected, but because it’s part of the wider battle for decent housing for all, based on need not greed.

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