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Housing association police state

Keith Parkins | 16.06.2008 15:38 | Repression | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | South Coast

CCTV watching our every move, arbitrary arrest and detention under terrorism legislation to stifle protest and dissent, banning of the film On the Verge, 42 days detention for suspected terrorists. Day by day our civil liberties and human rights are being eroded and taken away. Housing associations are now part of the surveillance society.

Pavilion Housing Association has become part of the surveillance society, is treating its tenants and estates as though they are within a police state.

Pavilion was formed from the old council housing stock of Rushmoor (estates in Aldershot and Farnborough), and is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of First Wessex. They have a reputation for poorly maintained properties, bad anti-social behaviour on their run down estates and crude intimidation and threats against their critics.

 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/396006.html?c=on
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/396759.html

The only information a housing association should hold on its tenants is that required to maintain their tenancy and property, nothing more. To hold more, is possibly a breach of Data Protection legislation.

Under the guise of carrying out a demographic survey, Pavilion Housing Association are amassing detailed, sensitive, personal information on its tenants – ethnic origins, religious beliefs, employment status, history of mental problems – information that they should not hold, have no right to hold. Information that it is not in the tenants' own interest that they should hold.

That this is a crude attempt to gather information on individual tenants not a genuine survey is shown by the fact that each survey form is delivered preprinted with the individual tenant's name! Information that will be used to monitor and intimidate tenants. To help collect further information on their tenants, tenants are being invited to become representatives, reporting directly to Pavilion.

Pavilion are inviting tenants to become tenant representatives. It is the intention that every street, every block, will have such a representative reporting direct to Pavilion. It will be Pavilion who will choose who these representatives will be!

Pavilion are also inviting tenants to join the TCG (Tenants' Consultative Group). In their invitation to tenants, Pavilion claim the TCG approve Pavilion policies. Not true, it is the board. The TCG is nothing but a talking shop, to give the illusion of tenant participation. Again it is Pavilion who will decide who the representatives will be. The existing TCG representatives are seen by tenants as Pavilion stooges, busybodies who poke their nose into where it is not wanted.

The tenant representatives have to sign an agreement which effectively prevents them from acting for their fellow tenants. Should they fail to follow Pavilion diktats, they will be barred by Pavilion from acting as representatives.

Atlantic, prior to their takeover of the failing Pavilion to form First Wessex, had in place neighbourhood representatives. It was feared that sooner or later, this socially divisive policy would be implemented by Pavilion.

This is going back to the worst excesses of the old Stalinist Soviet Union. The state formed trade unions, the state decided who the shop stewards would be. Every block, every neighbourhood had its representatives appointed by the state, otherwise known as informers. The same system existed in Iraq under Saddam Husein.

At best this is greenwash, a public relations exercise to convince gullible local councillors that Pavilion are working with and on behalf of their tenants.

Pavilion/First Wessex behave like feudal lords from the Dark Ages, their tenants treated like serfs. Seen in this light, their corporate logos are highly intriguing.

The corporate logo for Pavilion is a tent. The sort of tent a feudal lord would erect on a battlefield.

That for First Wessex is even more intriguing. It is a dragon with a looped tail. This bears a remarkable similarity to the Order of the Dragon, the symbol of Vlad Tepes, Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, otherwise known as Drakulya, who we now know as Dracula. He was an extremely cruel 15th century warlord, who impaled his opponents on a stake. The best Pavilion can do these days to intimidate is to threaten its critics with legal action and an Asbo.

 http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/6203708
 http://www.heureka.clara.net/art/elizabeth-kostova.htm
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/396759.html

It would appear that all the tenants at Firgrove Court in Farnborough have finally been driven out of their homes. Hoardings are being erected around the estate, presumably to keep out squatters prior to its demolition.

Firgrove Court would be an ideal squat, 28 maisonettes, 5 minutes walk from Farnborough Station, 30 minutes by fast train to Waterloo!

Firgrove Court is being demolished for a car park for a superstore, part of the unwanted town centre redevelopment. Earlier in the year, garages with asbestos roofs were demolished, with no special precautions taken to deal with the asbestos. Farnborough town centre is now little more than a ghost town, having been destroyed by KPI, a Kuwaiti-financed front-company for St Modwen (who have an excellent track track record of destroying town centres).

 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/396456.html
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/396016.html?c=on
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/397176.html?c=on
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/397758.html?c=on
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/397897.html?c=on

Surveyors have been seen out and about on the Pavilion estates in Aldershot. Presumably part of the revaluation of the property portfolio to see what other assets can be squeezed.

 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/396672.html?c=on

There is to be a meeting in the near future to discuss the demolition of maisonettes in Selborne Avenue in Aldershot. The tenants have yet to be told, they will be the last people to be informed, let alone consulted.

At least one bank has refused to extend any further credit or loans to Housing Associations. Several housing associations are known to be in financial trouble. Pavilion is rumoured to be one of them. The Housing Corporation knows which ones, but won't say.

 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/396859.html

web

 http://www.tlio.org.uk/
 http://www.defendcouncilhousing.org.uk/dch/

Keith Parkins
- Homepage: http://www.heureka.clara.net/surrey-hants/

Comments

Hide the following 4 comments

Plenty of Rachmans around.

17.06.2008 09:22

This is not an isolated case as Wulvern Housing, based in Crewe and Nantwich, is adopting a similar policy. It is reported that the Chief Executive, one Sue Lock, tells her colleagues that their housing is for the underclass. This attitude prevails, they have told tenants that they want more "business" people on their board and on committees. So, the plan is to replace tenants with the local bent masonic brothers who will no doubt go along with their schemes to demolish homes and sell sites to developers.

They have also sent a "survey" asking for personal data and more. It is supposed to be confidential but has people's name and address on it!

Tenants who try to tackle issues with them, such as why they don't comply with the Housing Act in maintaining properties, find themselves the subject of vicious gossip from employees who delight in spreading this round to neighbours etc.

Mention the Data Protection Act and they look puzzled, it seems they are totally ignorant of this legislation. Their employees pass on all manner of personal information with no redress.

There is a similar ignorance of asbestos regulations as they failed to advise tenants they had asbestos in and around their properties. They removed some of this illegally and it was only when contractors appeared that people found out what was there. The local council are in bed with them and didn't want to get involved. A survey undertaken resulted in the surveyor stating, "they should be prosecuted" we shall see.

The latest ploy is to demolish houses and flats and then build housing to buy. They all run round in cars and have the latest £300 mobile phones given to them. Meanwhile the tenants cannot get repairs done. Housing can best be described as squalid.

Rachman is alive and well in the social housing sector in the UK.

Jolly Roger


clwyd alyn,wales

17.06.2008 11:21

i have seen the conditions which we have had to live in please look @ my u tube and my blog . housing is being got rid of ,stock transfer ,council housing,
i lost my court case with clwyd alyn for damages, please look

 http://groups.google.com.uk/group/caia--park and u tube  http://www.youtube.com/user/caiapark



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

davey


the new Rachman landlords

17.06.2008 11:45

That described by Jolly Roger, would equally apply to Pavilion and their cronies and apologists in the local council..

A case for the Information Commissioner?

Speaking to the editor of a local paper toady, she said this is widespread, which indicates it could be coming from the Housing Corporation or Central Government.

Keith


clwyd alyn housing assocation

17.06.2008 13:51

my last link to our defend council housing wrong one, open communitys had £27,000 for the first phase of stock council housing, we closed it down due to our complaint nothing been said  http://www.opencommunities.org/ the funding was gained by open communitys first caia park wrexham , and more money is on its way for the second phase, the account open/c have  http://groups.google.co.uk/group/caia-park we have asked on our site MPs AMs etc have joined even directors of clwyd alyn and still nothing on options, this is a white wash by central government and WAG to get rid, our site cost nothing and lots of information regarding stockt transfer council housing www.groups.google.com/group/caia--park not to be confused with O/C and C/FIRST WEB SITE

davey


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