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Morning Briefing: scepticism of Grenfell land study findings

An MP and a community group have expressed scepticism about the findings of a government study that found “no increased risk to health” from potentially contaminated land surrounding Grenfell Tower, and other housing news

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Picture: Lucy Brown
Picture: Lucy Brown
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Morning Briefing: scepticism of Grenfell land study findings #ukhousing

Morning Briefing: rough sleepers evicted from Westminster following complaint by Commons chaplain #ukhousing

In the news

The government last week published findings of scientific tests done at the site of the Grenfell Tower, which concluded there was “no increased risk to health” from dangerous chemicals in the soil near the block.

London News Online reports that Emma Dent Coad, MP for Kensington and Chelsea, said the results were “scarcely believable”, while the chair of the Lancaster West Residents’ Association, which included Grenfell Tower, said he was “not really reassured”.

In other news, a group of rough sleepers have accused Rose Hudson-Wilkin, chaplain to the speaker of the House of Commons, of having them evicted after she complained to security officials about their “ongoing stench”.

Earlier this month, the New Statesman obtained emails which showed Ms Hudson-Wilkin had written to the parliament’s director of security to raise her concern about the number of rough sleepers at the entrance to Westminster station.

Now The Guardian reports that a group of rough sleepers wrote to Ms Hudson-Wilkin yesterday, saying their lives had gotten worse since she complained about them, causing their eviction from “the closest thing we had to a home”.

Ms Hudson-Wilkin said she has not yet received the letter but also said nobody should have to sleep in such conditions in “21st century Britain”.


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The I newspaper has spoken to people living outside of London who are “trapped by unaffordable housing”, saying the crisis outside of the capital can no longer be avoided.

The piece quotes a survey from Zoopla ,which found that the cost of renting a home in the past year has risen the fastest in Nottingham, Leeds and Bristol.

Meanwhile, a group of protesters gathered outside of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) yesterday to call for the removal of flammable cladding and improved insulation, the Morning Star reports.

Led by campaigning group Fuel Poverty Action, the protestors delivered a letter signed by 73 organisations, unions and MPs, criticising the government for not yet replacing all Grenfell-style cladding.

According to the latest government data, work is yet to complete on 61 (39%) of social high-rise blocks identified as having aluminium composite material cladding, while work is yet to begin on 144 (79%) of private blocks in the same condition.

In the latest fallout from the hike in Public Work Loans Board (PWLB) interest rates, Stevenage Council has said it will have to rethink plans to borrow £300m over 30 years to invest in existing council stock and build new homes, The Comet reports.

Council leader Sharon Taylor previously told Inside Housing that the government’s surprise decision to increase PWLB borrowing rates was “extremely disappointing”.

Finally, two housing associations in Leeds and Scotland have appointed new chief executives.

Mark Pearson has been selected as the permanent chief executive of Leeds and Yorkshire Housing Association, following 18 months as interim chief executive.

Meanwhile, Lorna Cameron has been appointed as chief executive of Livingston-based Horizon Housing Association, while a chair has also been selected.

On social media

Fuel Poverty Action shared a video of them delivering their letter to MHCLG:

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick reminds us of the government’s new plan for a shared ownership Right to Buy: