Camden Council 22 May 2014 Election Results

Results taken from Camden council website HERE 

Camden councils results include rejected/spoiled 'votes' in the total number. To make it clearer I have calculated the actual number of valid votes and the rejected ones.

According to Camden council the Turnout was 38.69% (60,046 ballots cast). I'm guessing this includes all who actually turned up at the polling station, proxies and postal votes and rejected/spoiled ballot papers.

54 Seats, 18 Wards.
Previous Seats (May 2010-May 2014)
Con 10
Lab 30
LD 13
Green 1

Seats following 22 May 2014 council elections
Green 1
Labour and Cooperative 2
Lib Dems 1
Conservative 12
Labour   38


Winners names in bold
 


 Belize
Jonny Bucknell - Con                                   1219
Bradley Hillier-Smith - Lib Dems                        760
Madeleine Jennings - Lab                                  939
Claire-Louise Leyland  - Con                        1157
James McGowan - Lab                                       782
Darren Robert Murphy - Green                          269    
Lawrence Joseph Nicholson - Lib Dems               678
Harunur Rashid - Lab                                        709
Leila Roy - Con                                            1016
Nigel Rumble - Independent                              199
Tom Simon - Lib Dems                                      992
Rowan St Clair - Green                                     272
Stuart Temple Taylor - Green                            243

Total including rejected                                   9257
Actual votes                                                   9235
Rejected/spoiled                                                 22


Turnout 38.26%

Bloomsbury
Hammad Baig - Lib Dems                                  185
Timothy Barnes - Con                                       608
Amiery De Malet - Lib Dems                              212
Sabrina Francis - Lab                                   1271
Samuel William Gage - Green                            396
Giles Game - UKIP                                            219
Stanley Grossman - Lib Dems                             167    
Adam Douglas Keir Harrison - Lab               1295
Andrew Keep - Con                                            536
Sarah Macken - Con                                           489
Rishi Madlani - Lab                                       1226
Dee Searle -Green                                             419
Shana Tufail - Green                                          341

Total including rejected                                    7385
Actual votes                                                    7364
Rejected/spoiled                                                  21


Turnout   33.11% 


Camden Town with Primrose Hill
Juniour Blake - Lib Dems                                    295
Pat Callaghan - Lab                                       2005
Richard Cotton - Lab                                     1542
Phil Cowan -Independent                                    287
Nicola Hart - Green                                            641
Mukul  Hari - Lib Dems                                       255       
Sarah Hoyle - Lib Dems                                      309
Chris Kassapiss - Con                                         609
Rory Manly - Con                                               655
Richard James Merrin - Con                                567
Lazzoro  Pietragnoli - Lab                             1608
Daniel Alexander Rosenbaum - Green                  601
Ben Van Der Velde - Green                                 455
          
Total including rejected                                     9847
Actual votes                                                     9829
Rejected/spoiled                                                   18

Turnout 38.00%



Cantelowes
Danny Beales - Lab                                          2002
Paul Nicholas Braithwaite - Lib Dem                        725
Fran Bury - Green                                                 639
Fiona Ann Firman - Green                                      632
Robyn Gardner - Con                                             375
Victoria Green - Green                                           546
Margaret Jackson-Roberts -Lib Dem                        355
Phil Jones - Lab                                                 1966
Angela Mason - Lab                                           1899
Robert Anthony Ricketts - Con                                361
Catherine Felicity Jane Sinclair Jones - Lib Dem       344
Will Timmins - Con                                                346

Total including rejected                                       10221
Actual votes                                                       10190
Rejected/spoiled                                                      31


Turnout 40.58%


Fortune Green
Ian Cohen -  Con                                                      893
Juan Jimenez - Green                                               326
Nancy Jirira - Lib Dems                                             950
Leila Mars - Green                                                    403
Lucy Oldfield - Green                                                318
Richard Olszewski - Labour and Cooperative        967
Andrew James Parkinson - Con                                  739
Flick Rea - Lib Dems                                            1151
Lorna Russell - Labour and Cooperative             1028
Nick Russell - Lib Dems                                             865
Tom Smith - Con                                                      686
Phil Turner - Labour and Cooperative                         904

Total including rejected                                           9246
Actual votes                                                           9230
Rejected/spoiled                                                       16


Turnout 39.20%


Frognal and Fitzjohns
Siobhan Baillie - Con                                            1497
Jack Boardman - Lab                                                 606
David Ian Bouchier - Lib Dems                                   294
Charles Hilary Harris -Green                                      411
Mazida Khatun - Lab                                                  481
Andrew Mennear - Con                                       1428
Edward Sherman Ross - Green                                   363
Richard Salmon - Lab                                                 512
Gio Spinella - Con                                               1352
Erich Wagner - Lib Dems                                            187
Anne Ward - Lib Dems                                                284
Stephen Edward West - Green                                    312

Total including rejected                                            7738
Actual votes                                                            7727
Rejected/spoiled                                                         11


Turnout 33.70%


Gospel Oak 
Steve Adams - Con                                                  634
Theo Blackwell - Lab                                          1687
Constantine Buhayer - Green                                   527
Peter John Horne - Con                                            551
Roger Hughes - Lib Dems                                         248
Barry Leavers - UKIP                                               361
James Richard Marshall - Green                                429
Maeve McCormack - Lab                                     1590
Laura Frances Noel - Lib Dems                                  245
John Reid - Trade Union and Socialist Coalition          110
Larraine Revah - Lab                                          1534
Kevin Simon Sefton - Lib Dems                                158
Sangita Singh - Con                                                 456
Jane Kathryn Walby - Green                                     548

Total including rejected                                           9084
Actual votes                                                           9078
Rejected/spoiled                                                          6

Turnout 40.70%


Hampstead Town
Rachael Agnew - Lab                                               726
Robert Carruthers - Lib Dems                                   542
Linda Chung - Lib Dems                                         1148
Tom Currie - Con                                                1272
Sophie Emma Clare Dix -Green                                512
Maisie King - Green                                                 365
 Simon Marcus - Con                                           1465
James Newsome - Lib Dems                                      575
Maddy Raman - Lab                                                  711
Luca Salice - Lab                                                      609
Stephen Stark - Con                                            1380
Prashant Bhaskar Vase - Green                                 288

Total including rejected                                          9604
Actual votes                                                          9593
Rejected/spoiled                                                        11

Turnout 43.68%


Haverstock
Rahel Mohammed Bokth - Lib Dems                         913
Charlotte Sophie Collins - Green                              456
Christopher Cooke - UKIP                                        315
Stephen Daughton - Con                                         351
Nathan Davidson - Con                                           339
Jill Fraser Lib Dems                                               1081
Alison Kelly - Lab                                               1707
Andre Lopez- Turner - Green                                   356
Abdul Quadir - Lab                                             1578
Carole Ricketts - Con                                               291
Matt Sanders - Lib Dem                                           976
Una Sapietis - Green                                               361
Abi Wood - Lab                                                  1462

Total including rejected                                         10206
Actual votes                                                         10186
Rejected/spoiled                                                       20

Turnout 42.46%


Highgate
Sian Berry - Green                                             1642
Will Blair - Con                                                       727
Beth Charlesworth - Con                                         763
Will  Dilnott-Cooper - Con                                        662
Sally Gimson - Lab                                             1739
Martin Charles Hay - Lib Dems                                 198
Matthew Johnston - Green                                     1252
Valerie Leach - Lab                                                1567     
Oliver Lewis - Lab                                              1664
Robert McCracken - Green                                     1099
Henry Potts - Lib Dems                                            232
Martin Wright - Lib Dems                                         130

Total including rejected                                         11702
Actual votes                                                         11675
Rejected/spoiled                                                        27

Turnout 49.95%


Holborn and Covent Garden
Jeremy Richard Allen - Lib Dems                              222
Lewis Barber - Con                                                  601
Nikki Brain - Green                                                 480
Robert Carlyle - Independent                                   162
Alison Frost - Con                                                   635
Julian Fulbrook - Lab                                         1844
Eve Mullen - Green                                                 458
Daniel Nesbitt - Con                                                576
Awade Olad - Lab                                               1588
Anthony Quinn - Green                                           357
David Simmons - Lib Dems                                      196
Sue Vincent - Lab                                               1714
Ken Wright - Lib Dems                                             181

Total including rejected                                          9046
Actual votes                                                          9014
Rejected/spoiled                                                        32

Turnout 35.50%


Kentish Town
Omar Ali - Lib Dems                                                304
Meric Apak - Lab                                                1992
Doreen Bartlett - Con                                              452
Paul Barton - Con                                                    397
Darryl James Davies - Con                                       427
Judy Dixie - Lib Dems                                              375
Valdir Francisco - Lib Dems                                      195
Georgia Gould - Lab                                           2076
Jenny Headlam-Wells - Lab                               2165
George Houghton - Green                                        738
Alaa Owaineh - Green                                              818
Jack Stephen Parker - Green                                    882
Maxine Spencer - UKIP                                            287

Total including rejected                                        11128
Actual votes                                                         11108
Rejected/spoiled                                                        20

Turnout 40.75%



Kilburn
Sarah Astor - Green                                                 402
Douglas Beattie  - Lab                                         1661
Richard Dunham Bourn - Green                                 276
Maryam Eslamdoust- Lab                                    1611
Thomas Gardiner - Lab                                        1543
Janet Grauberg - Lib Dems                                        876
Sheila Hayman - Green                                            286
Jack Holroyde- Lib Dems                                           746
James King - Lib Dems                                              883
Nick Vose - Con                                                        411
Tim Wainwright - Con                                               409
John Whitehead -Con                                                357

Total including rejected                                           9483
Actual votes                                                           9461
Rejected/spoiled                                                        22

Turnout 38.31%


Kings Cross 
John Burden - Lib Dems                                            236
Brian  Gascoigne - Green                                          550
Abdul Hai - Lab                                                    1333
Sarah Hayward - Lab                                           1467
Dominic Kendrick - Green                                          459
Adam Lester - Con                                                    431
Ivan Julian Massow - Con                                          403
Patsy Prince - Con                                                    401
Jonathon Simpson - Lab                                      1424  
Michael Ancrum Skinner - Lib Dems                           195
Elizabeth Margaret Stanton Jones - Lib Dems              263
Lewis Sullivan - Green                                              446

Total including rejected                                           7631
Actual votes                                                           7608
Rejected/spoiled                                                        23

Turnout 34.52%

 Regents Park
Shahin Ahmed - Con                                               595
Nash Ali - Lab                                                    1648
Sam Cannicott - Lib Dems                                        232
Hamish Hunter - Con                                               551
Heather Johnson - Lab                                       1675
Daniel Jarrod Jones - Lib Dems                                 525
Daviyani Rayshma Kothari - Lib Dems                       133
Stephen Plowden - Green                                         457
Barry Read - UKIP                                                    380
Nicholas John Seston - Green                                   409
Nadia Shah - Lab                                                 1599
Ellie Vesey Thompson -  Con                                     516
Anne Wright - Lib Dems                                           198

Total including rejected                                          8930
Actual votes                                                           8918
Rejected/spoiled                                                        12

Turnout 36.04%


St Pancras and Somers Town
Nana Oye Adjepong - Lib Dems                                192
Peter Brayshaw - Lab                                         2488
Rob Culligan - Con                                                   368
Samata Khatoon - Lab                                        2423
Elliott Miller - Con                                                    295
Matty Mitford - Green                                               562
Brian Rice - Con                                                       351
Roger Robinson - Lab                                          2511
Koonal Kirit Shah - Green                                         440
Nicole Sykes - Lib Dems                                            178
Abdul Hannan Tarofdar - Lib Dems                             245
James Widdowson - Green                                         526

Total including rejected                                         10617
Actual votes                                                         10579
Rejected/spoiled                                                         38

Turnout 38.60%


Swiss Cottage
Chris Butler - Lib Dems                                             300
Tom Franklin - Green                                                433
Roger Freeman - Con                                           1294
Andrew Haslam-Jones -  Lib Dems                              230
Helen Jack - Green                                                    376
Andrew Marshall - Con                                         1340
Jill Newbrook - Lib Dems                                            347
Ben Nunn - Lab                                                        1029
Sheila Patton - Green                                                 339
Simon Pearson - Lab                                                 1008
Gretel Reynolds - Lab                                                 960
Don Williams - Con                                                   1221

Total including rejected                                            8886
Actual votes                                                            8877
Rejected/spoiled                                                           9

Turnout 34.67%


West Hampstead 
John William Bryant - Lib Dems                                836
Natalie Eliades - Con                                               800
Nick Grierson - Con                                                 811
Richard Neil Griffiths - Green                                   327
Zane Hannan - Green                                              343
Keith Moffitt - Lib Dems                                            943
Magnus Nielsen - UKIP                                             202
David Pearce - Trade Union and Socialist Coalition       67
Angela Pober - Lab                                             1166
Gillian Risso-Gill - Lib Dems                                      901
Phil Rosenberg - Lab                                           1179
Andrew Saywell - Con                                               715
Quentin Tyler - Green                                               250
James Yarde - Lab                                                1082

Total including rejected                                             9622
Actual votes                                                             9622
Rejected/spoiled                                                            0

Turnout 38.00%

Senior Camden Council officer sacked

According the the Hampstead and Highgate Express HERE, 

1 May 2014 

CASP Gardening Project

 Click Here for original council document of below information.

CAMDEN ASSOCIATION OF STREET PROPERTIES

CASP GARDENING PROJECT

February 2014 

HISTORY OF CASP GARDENING SCHEME

The CASP Pilot Gardening Project was established in June 2011 with  financial assistance from the Gospel Oak DMC. 

The Association set up and somewhat manages the project which has now been extended to include Gospel Oak, Kentish Town and Hampstead. 

Funding to date includes: Gospel Oak £7000, Hampstead £6000 & Kentish Town £10.000

The aim of the project is to provide gardening assistance to older, vulnerable or disabled tenants who live in Camden owned street properties. 

Historically, this type of service was never provided by Camden Council despite many ground floor LBC street properties being allocated to disabled tenants, etc. 

Initial discussions during the setting up of the project were extensive and covered area's such as insurance, suitability of the gardening team to work with vulnerable adults (CRB checks, etc), references and related housing management issues, etc. 

The Association set up and manages the project which has now been extended to include Gospel Oak, Kentish Town and Hampstead, although we remain in close contact with senior housing staff to discuss different aspects of the scheme such as funding and its management, etc. 

CASP meets regularly with the gardening team overseeing the works and any special requests such as input from OT's are passed to housing staff, etc. 

Many of the gardens have been left unattended for years and pretty extensive works have been required in some of the gardens in order to make these areas usable - before and after photographs are available on request. 

Over the years, some of these unattended areas have also attracted high levels of ASB and funding was used in some instances to revamp these areas - groups of individual gardens - into usable and attractive areas. 

For example, one of the areas (consisting of four individual gardens) was cleared and made attractive by sowing wild flowers, etc. 

GO, KT and Hampstead housing staff have also been proactive in identifying street property tenants who meet the criteria to receive assistance from the scheme. 

Our team of gardeners have extensive experience of working with vulnerable tenants in the community and the Association is already receiving excellent feedback. 

Since funding was first allocated in June 2011, funding used or is already committed to funding works taking place in the following Gospel Oak, Kentish Town and Hampstead streets: 

1. Malden Road NW5

2. Queens Crescent NW5

3. St Leonard's Square NW5

4. Russell Nurseries Estate NW5

5. Savernake Road NW5

6. Basset Street NW5

7. Grafton Road NW5

8. Marsden Street NW5 

9. Herbert Street NW5

10. St Baptist Gardens NW5

11. Maitland Park Road NW5

12. Grafton Terrace NW5

13. Hawley Road NW5 

14. Chetwynd Road NW5

15. Brecknock Road NW5

16. Caversham Road NW5

17. Gaisford Street NW5

18. Patshull Road NW5

19. Lawford Road NW5

20. St Alban's Road NW5

21. Chester Road NW5

22. Leighton Grove NW5 

23. Kingsgate Road NW6

24. Maresfield Gardens NW3

25. South Hill Park Gardens NW3

26. Goldhurst Terrace

27. Woodchurch Road NW6

28. Lady Margaret Road NW5 (New Referral) 

29. Ingestre Road NW5 (New Referral)

30. Croftdown Road NW5 (New Referral)

update 8 March 2021

 

DMC's Review - History of the DMC's

An officers report to the councils Housing and Adult Social Care in regards to the review the committee is carrying out into the 5 Committee District Management Committee's (DMC's) HERE


History of the DMC's

Back in the days prior to part 2 of the Local Government Act 2000 HERE coming into force in July 2001, the dmc's where sub-committee's of the councils then Housing committee. 

The housing committee and its sub-committees had council tenants as members - legislation allows them to do this.

In 1998, a DMC document HERE reveals that cllrs on the Housing committee bestowed upon some council tenants rights they weren't legally entitled to: voting rights on the councils housing committees (the dmc's).

" RESOLVED 

THAT the Tenants' Associations listed in Appendix A be  formally registered with the Council and their nominated representatives be co-opted onto the DMC, with voting rights for the Municipal Year 1998/99"   HERE

Legislation

The Local Government Act 1972, states under section 101 HERE   in regards to local governments discharge of their functions:

Subject to any express provision contained in this Act or any Act passed after this Act, a local authority may arrange for the discharge of any of their functions—
 
(a) by a committee, a sub-committee or an officer of the authority; or
(b) by any other local authority.

In relation to committees section 102 says:

(1) (a)a local authority may appoint a committee of the authority; or
(b)two or more local authorities may appoint a joint committee of those authorities; or
(c)any such committee may appoint one or more sub-committees

 (3)A committee appointed under subsection (1) [F25or (1A)] above, other than a committee for regulating and controlling the finance of the local authority or of their area, may, subject to section 104 below, include persons who are not members of the appointing authority or authorities or, in the case of a sub-committee, the authority or authorities of whom they are a sub-committee, F26. .

Section 13 HERE of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989  adds further to the above:

13 Voting rights of members of certain committees: England and Wales.
(1)Subject to the following provisions of this section, a person who—
(a)is a member of a committee appointed under a power to which this section applies by a relevant authority and is not a member of that authority;
(c)is a member of a sub-committee appointed under such a power by such a committee as is mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) above and is not a member of the relevant authority, or one of the relevant authorities, which appointed that committee,
shall for all purposes be treated as a non-voting member of that committee (my emphasis),  joint committee or, as the case may be, sub-committee.

Section 13 above came into force more or less around August 1990 HERE

By June of 1999 all 5 cllr lead dmc's (the 5 dmc's were aligned with the councils 5 district housing offices) had council tenant reps as chairs or vice chairs.

Each dmc was also given £100,000 pa to allocate on  council housing capital works. This was on top of the existing but smaller revenue budgets (around £35,000 each pa ) dmc's had been allocating.

Council meeting of 17 May 2000 
agenda item  6. STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS GOVERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEES AND THE APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS TO COMMITTEES 

 The Mayor moved and Councillor Dermot Greene seconded, that the report be received and adopted.
RESOLVED
- THAT the standing committees of the Council be constituted as set out below (my emphasis)

(e) HOUSING COMMITTEE (16) 
Majority Party (11) 
Brian Weekes, Dave Horan, John Rolfe, Charlie Hedges, Heather Johnson, Roger Robinson, Sybil Shine, Anne Swain, Jim Turner Maggie Cosin and Penny Abraham.

Opposition
(C)(3)Peter Horne, Andrew Mennear Piers Wauchope
(LD) (2) Jane Schopflin, Sidney Malin 
Plus named substitute 
(C)(1) Stephen Hocking 
(LD) (2) Flick Rea, Heather Thompson  

Plus 10 non voting members (my emphasis), one from each DMC, one from the Camden Federation of Tenants Associations, one from the Camden Federation of Private Tenants and one from the Homelessness Liaison Group, one from Leaseholders forum and one from TMO Liaison Group

Note it says "Plus 10 non voting members "

Forward a couple of weeks from the above full Council meeting to the Gospel Oak DMC  30 May 2000 HERE 

 1.REGISTRATION OF TENANTS ASSOCIATION AND CO-OPTION OF TENANT REPRESENTATIVES 
RESOLVED THAT all the Tenants Associations listed in Appendix A be formally registered with the Council and their nominated representatives be co-opted onto the DMC with voting rights (my emphasis) for the municipal year 2000/2001. 

Within weeks of the full Council meeting and the agreed 10 tenant reps appointed onto the councils then Housing Committee with no voting rights, had  transformed into the continuation of 5 Housing Committee sub-committees that had at least ten voting tenant reps each.

It was around this time that council tenant reps from the Camden Association of Street Properties (CASP) started attending dmc meetings.

By 2004 a few estate based council tenants reps (dmc and cftra members) had taken over CASP.

The council had given them housing transfers to street properties in order to do so.

A few years earlier, in January 2001, council tenant members of the dmc's who where also members of the Camden Federation of Tenants and Residents Association (CFTRA) managed to get the following motion agreed by 4 of the 5 dmc's:

“This District Management Committee agrees that the budget of £456,000 be withdrawn from the Community Involvement Team from April 1st 2001 and that tenants decide where and how the money will be used" 

The CFTRA then set themselves up as a private company limited by guarantee in the same name, and took on the tenant participation service from the councils in house team - to provide services to other council tenants on behalf of the council.

From what I can make of things, the cftra taking on the TP service has been a disaster from start to finish resulting in the current situation where the cftra has lost all its funding and support from the council.

The change of governance system brought in by the Local Government Act 2000 should have meant that the dmc's where shut down but cllrs allowed the dmc's to continue but as council tenant groups funded and serviced by the council.

The dmc's also continued to exercise council functions of allocating large sums of money to themselves. This progressed to dmc members actually being given direct access to council money to buy goods and services/works on behalf of the council - without an apparent formal legal management agreement/contract being in place. No annual accounts of spending required by the councils. No receipts required.

Councils officers agree with the tenant reps how much the cost of the works etc will be and the tenant rep is sent a cheque (or given a government procurement card) to transfer public money into the tra's bank account.

The dmc's don't produce annual accounts of where the money they have allocated to themselves has been spent. The council doesn't require the dmc's to account for the spending.

This set up continues to this day.

Housing Management Efficiencies Review

On 26 June 2013 the councils housing and adult social care (hasc) scrutiny committee held their first (of a limited number of sub- meetings) Housing Management Efficiencies review meeting HERE

Terms of reference 

• Investigate current Housing management structures and consider proposals to address any deficiencies

• Investigate the role and responsibility for each head of service in Housing Management, how they relate to each other and to other council departments, how they work together and share resources, and how they use the budgets allocated to each

• Investigate efficiency saving opportunities without affecting front line service delivery

• Make visits to appropriate departments and carry out mystery shopping within the above scope and investigation

• Consider the implications of the above findings and make recommendations to improve efficiency and service delivery for tenants and leaseholders.

Labour cllr Julian Fulbrook is the cabinet member for housing.

2nd meeting 16 July 2013 HERE 
3rd meeting 30 July 2013 HERE
4th meeting due 18 Sept 2013 HERE
5th meeting 1 Oct 2013 HERE
6th meeting 9 Oct 2013 HERE
7th meeting 24 Oct 2013 HERE
8th meeting 6 Nov 2013 HERE

One theme that keeps occurring in relation to council housing management (and it could be right across the council) is the continued operation of a financial system that allows any tom, dick or harridan to invoice the council for works/services without having to provide receipts.

Such as not requiring council housing repairs teams to provide proof of the works they have done ie get job signed off by tenant as proof it was carried out.

Or not requiring dmc members to provide proof of what they spend large sums of public money on.

I wonder if any improvements have been implemented since the 2002 Audit of Camden Council Leaseholder Service Charges HERE    was carried out? The report is very damning of how the council mis-manages money. 

 

Sexual Freedom and the Far Left

http://www.bolshevik.org/mb/4women.htm

Marxist Bulletin:
Sex, Censorship and Women’s Rights by Barbara Duke

I submitted the following resolution to the North London women’s section in the lead up to the national women’s section conference in late August. Unfortunately it did not gain enough support there for it to be further discussed at the national meeting or at our forthcoming congress. Below I argue why I believe this is an essential discussion on an issue which is important not only for the women’s section but for the party as a whole and the development of our policies.

Sexual Freedom

• Socialist Labour is opposed to restrictions on sexual expression and sexual choices among all those capable of informed consent. We fight all legislation which denies these freedoms.

• We are opposed to all state censorship, including of sexual material – capitalism only uses such laws to strengthen its oppression of women, gays and lesbians, and others.

• We call for the repeal of all age of consent laws (my emphasis) , whether for heterosexual or homosexual youth – such legislation is used by the state to oppress young people and their developing sexuality, often restricting their access to vital contraception, abortion and pre-natal services.

• Neither censorship nor age of consent laws provide any real protection against sexual abuse, which is perpetuated by the domestic and social pressures of capitalist society, and restrictions on the lives of women, children and young people.

• We campaign for the rights of people of any sexual orientation, age, gender, health and abilities to express their sexuality without interference, provided they respect the same rights of others and that all parties are capable of giving their informed consent.

How Hattie’s friends defended paedophilia HERE 

The Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE) HERE

PETER TATCHELL AND THE PAEDOPHILE BOOK HERE

"Sexual liberation had become – for some reason – a vital part of true Socialism" 

Paedophiles Want The Same Rights As Homosexuals HERE

Amnesty for Tenancy Fraudsters 2013

Camden council is proposing a two month amnesty for tenants who are committing tenancy fraud. DMC report June 2013 HERE

Report Summary:

To inform DMCs of the proposal to hold an amnesty for a period of two months for those tenants committing housing tenancy fraud

- making a false declaration to obtain their council tenancy,subletting their property or not using it as their main home.

The amnesty will allow tenants to return the keys and vacant possession of their properties without facing the consequences of further legal action or risk of prosecution under the new powers contained within the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013. 

Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013 HERE  - 
yet to come into force. 

Legislation already exists that makes fraud a criminal offence such as the Fraud Act 2006 HERE which the council has used before HERE

Council Meeting - the Sabotage of Gospel Oak Community Partnership

Webcast of the Development Control committee meeting held on Thursday 21 March 2013 HERE, 

Agenda Item 7(4) Housing and Adult Social Care: Planning application for the site 121-211 Bacton Low Rise estate, 113a, 115 and 117 Wellesley Road and 2-16 Vicars Road Gospel Oak NW5. HERE

113a Wellesey Road is the council owned community hall run by Bacton Low Rise TRA and Wendling TRA. 
115-117 Wellesy Road is the councils Gospel Oak District Housing Office site.  2-16 Vicars Rd are council owned workshops. 

Approximately £68m is cited as the development cost.  

To the east of the site is the junction of Grafton Road and Vicar’s Road, with Grafton Road at this point extending over the rail line. 

To the south are further residential properties along both sides of Vicar’s Road (a combination of Victorian properties, blocks of residential flats and the vicarage building on the junction of Vicar’ s Road and Wellesley Road), the Grade II former St Martin’s Church Hall (now a French School) and the Grade I listed St Martin’s Church. 

To the west of the site is the 22 storey Bacton High Rise Tower residential block of flats (No’s 1-120 Bacton).  

 

Dorian Cortesi chair of Barrington Crt TRA gave a deputation to the committee on behalf of the 9 local organisations neighbouring the development site. 

He isn’t against the application, the deputation is specifically about section 106. He is referring to section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 HERE  
 

Section 106 Obligations and the Community Infrastructure Levy HERE 
The Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 HERE

Place Plans HERE

The CIL is money that " developers of larger sites pay to the council to reduce the impact of the development. Developers sign a S106 agreement as part of their planning permission. This is a legal document that specifies what the money is spent on and where. For example, S106 money is used to make improvements to highways, parks, public transport, schools." 

 

The gist of the deputation as I understand it is that during the consultation period when the council were engaging well with the wider community on the proposed redevelopment the section 106 money was not mentioned. 

Meanwhile the council has been working with one group (the Real Deal Community Partnership (RDCP)) on how to spend a significant amount of the money – all other local groups where excluded. They didn't know until recently that the RDCP  had been selected by the council to play an active role in the allocation of places spaces provisions. The existing council forum (I'm guessing he means the gospel oak community partnership the council agreed to in March 2012 HERE ) was in place and overlooked in favour of the rdcp.  

Cllr Valerie Leach cabinet member for Regeneration and Growth and ward cllr for Highgate has been involved in project meetings about the development. She says “we asked the real deal community partnership to take a lead because they are the one’s being most affected by the redevelopment” 

The rdcp 'real dealers' seem to be: (I say seem to be because the rdcp website HERE doesn't identify who the directors of the rdcp are so I am working with a deputation the below group gave to cllr Sarah Hayward  on 30 March 2012 HERE to try and persuade her,  that they are the group that should be recognised as the gospel oak community partnership, hence the name): 

Bacton Low Rise TRA – Dave and Simone Lewis and Sarah Robbins (the housing estate that is being demolished)

Kiln Place TRA –Rita Thorpe and Jackie Kanaris 

Maitland Park TRA – Lynne Bateman

Wendling TRA 

Chair of Gospel Oak DMC, - Terry Wigget 

CASP  

Bobby Armstrong  - Grafton

Onto the meeting where after the presentation had been given, members of the development committee asked questions: 

Cllr Paul Braithwaite says “my main area of concern … There is no doubt here that (makes ref to a deputation) the community does not feel that this process is being transparent….. I got the impression from Cllr Leach that fortunately this is redeemable". 

Cllr Braithwaite goes onto to say " I think it is a concern of this committee of the engagement of community (I think he means the "other" wider community) in the allocation of the section 106 money and indeed engagement with the cllrs..." he goes on to make reference to Maiden Lane Estate - the council had many problems (from the councils side of things) in getting tenants to agree to the councils plans for the estate and it took many years to get to the planning application stage.  

“ ... this real deal community partnership, and it is apparent that quite a few of the resident bodies felt that that it came out of left field, the real deal community partnership has been in a steady dialogue and are quite heavily engaged in making recommendations, so I would really like Stuart Dilley to come back to us on on going transparency and engagement on the 106 money and why it is that real deal community partnership have been elevated and given special treatment to date.” 

Council legal officer states “ there is no legal requirement to consult on the section 106 …. As a matter of law the council can’t delegate expenditure, section 106 money to other parties”(my emphasis) 

Stuart Dilley (senior housing officer) says “the council has asked the real deal community partnership to look at opportunities for committing the 106"  

Cllr Braithwaite “can I come back again on the real deal community partnership and can it be explained to us why they have enjoyed, lets say, this exclusive relationship …”
 

Stuart Dilley “ the real deal community partnership was set up by the community"  … 

NB the development committee chair said “ members have the capacity to direct officers on how to spend the section 106 money…." 

What is clear, is that there are two different "communities" at loggerheads here: the rdcp ( a handful of council tenants who are chums of old and any 'chancers' who may come along - it seems) who the council for whatever reason other than the official "we asked the real deal community partnership to take a lead because they are the one’s being most affected by the redevelopment" favours and the wider community ie other affected council tenants, private tenants, businesses, community groups etc. 

In my view, It wasn't the council who approached the RDCP, it was the rdcp who approached the council and that is plain to see. Regardless of what any council person says the council does have an "agreement" with the rdcp - whether its in writing or verbal (a wink and a nod) I don't know.   

There is a danger I think, that the rdcp "agreement" with the council will turn out to be like the one the council has with the other council tenant group of 5 - the district management committee's (dmc's) who have an "agreement" with the council to allocate money to themselves - but the council "holds" the money and allows tenant reps direct access to it either by way of a council procurement card or a cheque sent to the tra to be deposited in the tra bank account. No annual accounts produced at their agms, no receipts.

Has the ultimate aim been to get their hands on the section 106 money? 

Update
The councils lib dem members  don't seem happy about the shenanigans going on in Gospel Oak ward regarding the rdcp and the section 106 money and have, according to official documents for the upcoming full council meeting to be held on Monday 15 April 2013 HERE, put the following question to the Cabinet member for Regeneration and Growth cllr Valerie Leach:

" There is growing concern over the democratic deficit over the use of Section 106 funds. Residents, community groups and councillors often have no idea where - or even if - the money was spent.  

How much money has the Council administered under Section 106 agreements over the last three years?

How many of these distributions been raised with the Cabinet Member? How many have been raised with ward councillors?

At what level are officer decisions actually being made? 

Does she acknowledge that in light of the great frustrations around the huge Gospel Oak regeneration schemes – amongst many others – much greater clarity should be given and much greater input from local people should be routinely sought?"

And a motion

"  This Council notes that the decision making process for the spending of Section 106 funds allocated for public benefit in a particular ward is still shrouded in mystery for councillors and constituents alike.

This Council agrees that once Section 106 funds are deposited with the Council, the decision to spend them is best taken by the appropriate ward councillors while respecting the s106 allocation agreed by Development Control Committee. Ward councillors will be required to consult their constituents about their proposed decision through consulting their Area Action Group." 

Wonders whose idea it was to set the 'real dealers' up as a private company, and just how did they manage to persuade the responsible people in the council that it was a good idea to work with them - initially on job/fair days and entering into what could be termed as a shady "shadow" section 106 allocation "agreement" with the RDCP - at the exclusion of all others?

Surely by setting themselves up as a private company (with no liability to speak of), the 'real dealers' where expecting (had been promised?) significant sums of public money to come their way?  

Popcorn anyone?  

PS some council tenant reps (the shadow cllrs) have been known to turn up at the town hall and other venues where council business is being conducted - in order to tell council members what they should or shouldn't be doing.

update 25 Dec 2021

The linked is an odd case [imo] of the last remaining leaseholder of the Bacton Low Rise estate - a Russian, who had bought the leasehold  in 2010

https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-taken/decision-notices/2019/2614353/fer0736963.pdf

Some more about the case HERE