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Morning Briefing: court clears man over video of burning Grenfell Tower effigy
A man is cleared over the video of a burning Grenfell effigy, more reaction to children living in shipping containers, and all of your other major housing news stories of the day
A man has been cleared of a criminal offence over a video that showed a model of a burning building marked Grenfell Tower, a number of papers report this morning.
The Guardian, which ran a piece on the trial, reported that 47-year-old Paul Bussetti was cleared yesterday after being accused of sending “grossly offensive” video footage.
According to the paper, chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot called the handling of the case against Mr Bussetti “appalling” after evidence was disclosed to the defence just as she was retiring to consider her verdict on Thursday.
Following up on the recent coverage of the Children’s Commissioner for England report which revealed that thousands of children were being housed in shipping containers, The i runs an interview with a woman who lived in a shipping container in Ealing for almost two years.
Farzana, the interviewee, lived in the container with her son and describes the living conditions as “not fit for purpose”, with the container being “like a sauna” in the summer and “ice cold” in the winter.
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She also describes how the conditions had an impact on her mental health, saying living there was “torture” and made her feel “unsafe and anxious” most of the time.
Also in response to the Children’s Commissioner’s report, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said the government is “failing a whole generation of children” who are falling victim to rising poverty and homelessness.
The Evening Standard reports on the comments from Mr Corbyn, where he said: “The next Labour government will take radical action to unlock the potential of every child, not just a lucky few.
“The Tories are failing a whole generation of children. A child growing up in a shipping container or a B&B, or going to school hungry, cannot be expected to reach their full potential.
“The measure of our society is how we treat our most vulnerable. And who could be more vulnerable than a homeless child?”
The Guardian runs a piece on a venture by TV property guru Kevin McCloud, where investors could face losing up to 97% of their money.
According to the paper, a number of small investors who put a total of £2.4m into one of the bonds for Mr McLoud’s eco-friendly housing venture could be on course to lose between 74% and 97% of their money in the worst-case scenario.
In response to The Guardian, Mr McCloud said: “I stand shoulder to shoulder with those who have lost money, I will of course do everything in my power to improve the current situation.”
In local news, Sandwell Council has revealed it will spend £2m on post-Grenfell tower block safety, Birmingham Live reports.
The cabinet has been asked to approve a five-year contract with decorators Bell Group to carry out a rolling programme on the borough’s 55 multi-storey blocks.
Plans to build a new 800-home community outside of Wetherby in West Yorkshire are to be revived after earlier plans were put on hold.
Local website Leeds Live says that the new plan for the homes, a primary school and “food store” near Wetherby racecourse will be put back before the area’s planning authorities, despite fierce opposition from local residents.
In Bristol, housing chiefs have announced that another 600 homes will be built on council land in the next three years across the city.
As part of the four phases of its New Build Housing programme, the homes will be built across 15 sites across the city limits, Bristol Live reports.
On social media
Optivo’s boss says more affordable homes could help stem numbers of young people still living with parents:
Another symptom of #HousingCrisis: 1m more youngsters will be living with parents - a study by @avivaplc forecasts 3.8m 21 and 34 yr olds will live with parents by 2025, a 1/3 more than now. A range of #AffordableHousing options needed. #ukhousing t.co/DIAVo1fTig
— Paul Hackett (@PaulHackett10)Another symptom of #HousingCrisis: 1m more youngsters will be living with parents - a study by @avivaplc forecasts 3.8m 21 and 34 yr olds will live with parents by 2025, a 1/3 more than now. A range of #AffordableHousing options needed. #ukhousing https://t.co/DIAVo1fTig
— Paul Hackett (@PaulHackett10) August 23, 2019
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