Tenants and residents from across Leeds affected by Leeds City Council’s disastrous regeneration programmes are holding a public meeting this Wednesday (19 July) at 7pm in Little London to tell of the horrors of PFI and joint-venture scheme and form a city-wide anti-privatisation network to campaign against the loss of affordable council housing, the destruction of their communities and the suspension of democracy in Leeds.

The meeting has been organised by Save Little London Campaign, a coalition of tenants, residents and local supporters opposed to the £90m PFI scheme in Little London that will see 435 council homes sold off or demolished and hundreds of tenants forced to leave their homes and community to enable private developers to make £millions in profit.

It will feature a presentation by Ron Grahame from Swarcliffe Tenants and Residents Association on how the grand promises of PFI in the Swarcliffe estate haven’t matched the reality. He will explain how, after taking five years to sign a contract, Swarcliffe PFI contractors simply ripped up the original refurbishment and regeneration model in order to cut costs and make more profit.

A similar story will be told by tenants at Osmondthorpe who are watching their community being deliberately run down with the loss of community centres, schools and other public facilities as part of the massive East and South East Leeds (Easel) regeneration project. This is to clear more land for developers to build private housing and take refurbishments to community spaces out of the joint-venture contract, which will be signed later this year between Leeds City Council and Bellway Homes.

The meeting will also hear from Dick Banks from Amicus trade union, who are sponsoring the meeting, and Celia Foote, a teacher who will talk about the controversial role played by PFI in school re-building programmes and the creation of City Academies.

Save Little London campaigners aim to link these different struggle against the destruction of communities, social housing, schools, hospitals and other public services, and launch a city-wide anti-privatisation network. Its first aim will be stop the PFI regeneration scheme in Little London and support all other campaigns to defend public services in the city.

The meeting will take place in Space@, a community building behind Little London Community Primary School on the Little London estate. It begins at 7pm.