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From the frontline - Eve Wright

Eve Wright, rehousing co-ordinator at Catalyst, explains why she wants to “zap” aggressive people

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From the frontline - Eve Wright

What does your job involve?

I am responsible for planning the rehousing of residents on the Wornington Green Estate in North Kensington. The estate is undergoing a large regeneration project, which involves demolishing our own stock and building new homes in their place. Ideally, people move straight into their permanent new home but sometimes temporary moves are necessary because the right type of property isn’t available.

How did you get into housing?

I did a social sciences degree at Kingston Polytechnic and specialised in urban studies, which is when my interest in housing began. Ironically, on my first day at Kensington Housing Trust in 1975, I saw the bulldozers demolishing street properties to build the Wornington Green Estate – which we are now redeveloping.


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What would you change about the sector?

I’d review what constitutes a realistically affordable rent, looking at the changes in benefit caps for young single people, many of whom are vulnerable and need support, not to be set up to fail.

What does a good day look like?

I take a tenant who we need to move urgently, and who has refused several offers, to look at a property and they just love it. It’s like Christmas!

How about a bad one?

When a new block is handed over and the residents get their first look at the home they’ve accepted off plan and three of them refuse to move into them. It did happen. But we found them somewhere else and three more people were able to move into the new development earlier than planned and are very happy.

What’s the first thing you’d do if you became prime minister?

Cancel the Right to Buy and replace it with an incentive scheme to enable tenants to buy on the open market. We have a recognised chronic shortage of social housing, so why are we selling it?

What would be your superpower and why?

Inspired by recently seeing Toby Thompson at Latitude, I’d like to be able to zap aggressive people to make them deliver their grievances in the form of poetry! It might get their message across more clearly.

What’s the most private thing you would be willing to admit to your colleagues?

I have an abusive relationship with one of my cats! He scratches my face and bites my arms if I don’t wake up when he happens to think it’s time for breakfast. They say dogs have masters and cats have servants – well he certainly thinks I’m his slave!

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