Shadow minister for housing Grant Shapps launches manifesto in marginal seat of Hendon but would not be drawn on his Party's stance on the Brent Cross Cricklewood development
10:53am Wednesday 14th April 2010 in Where I Live By Kevin Bradford
Shadow housing minister Grant Shapps joined parliamentary candidate for Hendon Matthew Offord
A SENIOR Tory MP remained tight lipped yesterday over his stance on the controversial Brent Cross Cricklewood redevelopment when he visited the area to launch his party's manifesto.
Shadow housing minister Grant Shapps was in Hendon, considered a target seat by the Conservatives, to promote their pledge to give power to the people.
The MP for Welwyn Hatfield joined parliamentary candidate for Hendon Matthew Offord on the campaign trail, outside Orli Cafe, in Brent Street.
Beneath a Conservative party banner, the two parliamentary runners, along with council election candidates, brandished the blue bound books which read on the front “Invitation to join the Governement of Britain”.
Mr Shapps said: “These 131 pages are an instruction guide to making life better for people living in Hendon.
“I know this area well, and I know what Hendon has is a lot of people who are up for doing things, they are community orientated people.
“This manifesto says you are the big society that we need to create in this country to solve some of the underlying social underlying social problems.”
He said the emphasis was on the positive impacts families, groups, and charities can have on to building and providing services which will create “a better society”.
As the prospective cabinet minister in charge of housing, he could be responsible for finding a way of getting the stalled regeneration projects in West Hendon, Stonegrove and Grahame Park back on track.
Thousands of people living on the estates are still waiting for the work to be completed but Mr Shapps warned the economy, not a political party, will determine its completion.
He said: “You can't get these things pushed forward in the current climate, it needs the economic situation stable out.
“Waiting for economy to get back on to a sound and stable footing is the sensible thing to do at the moment.”
He said he would liaise with elected MPs when it came to large scale redevelopments, including the Brent Cross Cricklewood project which would include 7,500 new homes.
Despite being approved by the Tory administration on Barnet Council, and the Conservative mayor of London, Boris Johnson, there remains strong opposition to the £4.5 billion scheme.
A petition of 5,000 names was handed to Labour's Communities Secretary, John Denham, who has put a stop on the plans while he considers the application.
Mr Shapps would not be drawn on whether a Tory Government would back the scheme, given the level of opposition, but said: “Those decisions need to be made by the people close to them.
“What I will do is try no to intervene in every case and try to depend on local people to drive these projects forward.
“The problem often is when people see housing developments coming along they worry it will have a negative impact on their quality of life.
“For every business added to the area, the area benefits from extra cash coming in. Local people do get something back in return. Development doesn't mean it will devastate a community.”
Comments(2)
dellertron
says...
12:48pm Wed 14 Apr 10
Grumblepop
says...
1:59pm Wed 14 Apr 10
1) How do you support a candidate with no experience who lost £12 million of overspend on Aerodrome Bridge then left it to a colleague to take the blame.
2) Overdevelopment of Brent Cross with more retail businesses is what killed all the local community shops, all the way to Finchley and Apex Corner so, there is no extra cash coming in. What it does it creates a GHETTO community, the only exception is a Turkish owned mini-market, and the two council estates.
3) Homes, very very few people working in retail stores would afford many of thopse new homes. Hers is tacit approval of "EasyCouncil" that Matthew Offord subscribes to, "He said the emphasis was on the positive impacts families, groups, and 'CHARITIES' can have on to building and providing services which will create “a better society”.
THIS IS THE REAL STORY:
Here's the reality and the HCA's new initiative, about time:
http://vickim57.blog
spot.com/
http://vickim57.blog
spot.com/201004/tiny
-flats-to-be-outlawe
d.html
published in the London Evening Standard on 9th April on P42 either from the links above or the Standard online
"Why they're still hemmed in in Hendon"
Note the comments of St George Managing Director
Do we want a diverse multi-cultural community or Do the Conservativess want to create the equivalent of, I use the analogy, the "Warsaw Ghetto." How can Mr Schapps, who does not live or represent Hendon, have the ignorant audacity to say, "I know this area well, and I know what Hendon has, is a lot of people who are up for doing things, they are community orientated people." Which specific minority community is he talking about? Does that specific community need a 131 page INSTRUCTION booklet on how to live their lives when, the vast majority of families are doing things for their own communities.
I really thought that the whole of the Brent Street and surrounding area was a multi-cultural society, but it seems, Matthew Offord and Grant Schapps are socially engineering an even greater Ghetto, while paying lip service to the notion of mult-cultural society. Disgraceful.
As for the Regeneration estates, I'll bet nothing much happens until at least 2018-28, simply because any Government's, Homes and Communities Agency will be unable to subsidise the Property developers from tax-payers money, and by the there will be another economic bust. It was the Conservatives whom said, "THAT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SOCIETY/COMMUNITY." That is what gave rise to "some of the underlying social problems" the Conservatives call, "Broken Britain."
We will have to live through an austere period of cuts from Health, education, Welfare and less money, because if we want the above then pay more taxes (we pay the lowest in Europe, that's why they're dong better)) none of the parties have the courage to tell us that in an archaic 400+ year old Democratic process that gives us Elected Dictatorships. wakey wakey!
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