The pickled sheep of the housing world
Prescott to go: it's official
Latest news on the John Prescott flat saga: Lambeth council has found the planning application to convert the deputy prime minister's London pied-à-terre into a haven for key workers. The RMT union swore last week that the plans had been submitted, but Lambeth's representatives claimed to not have seen them – until now.

The plans have gone up for consultation, and the only remaining mystery is whether Prescott will leave gracefully or have the pleasure of a visit from the bailiffs.

CIH is cool – in Kowloon, at least
While the image of a career in housing may be at an all-time low among British young people, members of the Chartered Institute of Housing will be heartened to learn that their qualification is much more highly prized in Hong Kong.

Prospective members of the institute are so numerous in the former colony that they are required to go through a four-year programme of evening classes and coursework. Not for the faint-hearted.

La la la, not listening...
What do you do if the Housing Corporation wants your association to merge but you don't want to? The obvious thing would be to stick your head in the sand and hope the nasty corporation goes away.

A group of board chairs of medium-sized associations has taken this metaphorical ear-blocking one step further. They failed to RSVP to a meeting with Baroness Dean, at which, they feared, mergers might well be on the menu. When the majority decided not to go, the meeting was called off. Better luck next time...

Key workers? We prefer sharks
The Saatchi Gallery, on London's South Bank, predictably provoked the ire of the Daily Mail and others but Charles Saatchi now has opposition from a more unexpected corner.

Nimbys from the posh Highgate area are protesting about plans to convert the former Saatchi gallery there into 14 homes and offices. The deal, reports local organ The Ham & High, is part of a larger plan involving 10 affordable homes on a separate site, and could now be thrown into jeopardy.

It appears the well-to-do residents of Highgate would rather live near sheep in formaldehyde than have to deal with estate agents, and only want extra beds if they've been slept in by Tracey Emin.

PFI gets a cold shoulder
Spare a thought for David Whipp, head of regeneration at Laing's contract services arm Equion. While espousing the virtues of the private finance initiative at a conference last Thursday in Dalston, east London, the heating system got stuck on "cold", leaving delegates shivering.

When it was Whipp's turn to speak, he had to fess up that his firm was responsible for the arctic conditions, having built the venue as part of a PFI deal.

Ellenby cleans up

At the launch of Tipping the Balance – a London Housing Federation report into the cost of housing in the capital – LHF head Sue Ellenby got a little more hands-on than she had expected. The room booked for the event at Portcullis House – the government offices next to the Houses of Parliament – had been left in a terrible state by its previous users. Ellenby waited for a cleaner to appear, but none did; so five minutes before delegates were due to arrive, she gamely rolled up her sleeves and swept up the biscuit crumbs and discarded coffee cups that were strewn around the room. Who needs key workers when you’ve got this kind of policy in action?

Source

Housing Today