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Morning Briefing: man who filmed burning Grenfell effigy in court
A man who filmed an effigy of the Grenfell Tower on a bonfire appeared in court, cladding has left residents in Wales living in mould-infested flats, and all your other big housing news stories
The man who filmed a model of Grenfell Tower being burned on a bonfire appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court yesterday, with a number of national papers reporting on the proceedings.
The Guardian reports on the trial of Paul Bussetti, who is accused of sending a grossly offensive video on Whatsapp and causing footage of a menacing nature to be uploaded to YouTube. Mr Bussetti denied the two charges against him.
According to the report, Mr Bussetti told police that it was a “stupid moment”.
In other news, housing starts are predicted to fall 2% this year, the Construction Products Association has forecasted. The quarterly forecast by the trade body has revised down its growth estimates for spring for 2020 from 1.4% to 1%. Meanwhile, the 2021 estimate has also been revised down from 1.4% in the spring to 1.7% in the latest report.
According to a report on the figures in Show House, private housing remains the largest construction sector but is slowing due to a fall in demand in London and the South East, particularly for prime residential flats.
Meanwhile, The Irish News has published a half-year property and construction review for Northern Ireland, which says all construction sub-sectors other than private housebuilding saw marked falls in workload.
The slowdown is blamed on Brexit and the “ongoing political drift” in Northern Ireland, where there has now been no executive or assembly for over 920 days.
In homelessness news, the BBC reports on figures that reveal nearly half of all LGBT people who are made homeless come from religious backgrounds.
Albert Kennedy Trust, which conducted the research, says the majority of LGBT people rejected from their families come from Muslim and Christian families.
In local news, Wales Online tells the story of residents in three Cardiff tower blocks who have been forced to live with mould and water damage after the council removed the cladding on their homes when it failed fire safety tests.
Cardiff Council said the Welsh government is refusing to fund the replacement of the cladding as it is not made of aluminium composite material – although it would still fail today’s combustibility standards – leaving residents in the dark about whether their cladding will ever be replaced.
Another London council is clamping down on office to residential conversions as Barnet Council have been granted an Article 4 direction, which forces developers to go through the planning process if they wish to convert offices to flats at key sites across the borough.
Under current planning rules, developers are allowed to convert offices to residential properties without gaining planning permission, in a controversial practice that many worry leads to homes that are too small and without adequate amenities.
In Scotland, the Daily Record reports the richest 10% of the population now own about a third of Scottish housing wealth.
The Resolution Foundation thinktank, which has published a report on the figures, is calling for a major reform of council tax, calling the levy “as regressive as the poll tax.”
Finally, Aberdeenshire Council is launching a review of its housing allocation policy to decide whether the way they assign housing is “fit for purpose”.
On social media
The Jewish Chronicle is paying tribute to June Morton, chief executive at J Living, who has died after a short illness:
’Lasting legacy’ of housing chief who has died after short illness t.co/9Yo8ey2HG6 pic.twitter.com/aPqhUoBURN
— The Jewish Chronicle (@JewishChron)'Lasting legacy' of housing chief who has died after short illnesshttps://t.co/9Yo8ey2HG6 pic.twitter.com/aPqhUoBURN
— The Jewish Chronicle (@JewishChron) July 29, 2019
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