New Housing Scheme Given the Go Ahead

Conservative Party Chairman, Eric Pickles, meets with Thornhill Reisdents to discuss the new scheme.

Conservatives on Southampton City Council are embarking on an ambitious programme to redevelop the city's council housing estates. We hope to create several thousand new homes this way by 2026. They will be mixed tenure, private, affordable for rent, shared ownership and social.

The pilot project is Hinkler Parade in Thornhill in the Southampton Itchen constituency and today this exciting new scheme was given the green line to proceed.

Hinkler Parade's existing 1950s blocks will be replaced by a new, larger, better quality, higher density development. Better design will aim to ensure that crime and disorder are designed out in the new development. A popular community facility, the ‘Natterbox’ will be retained.

The pilot scheme is funded by Southampton City Council, the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire (PUSH) and the Homes and Communities Agency.

The project was recently thrown into doubt when Southampton MP and Secretary of State, John Denham, cut growth point funding to the area. PUSH’s growth point funding was cut from £9.5m to £5m. Despite this we are still moving ahead with the Hinkler Parade project and today Conservative Party Chairman, Eric Pickles MP visited the site to meet with local Thornhill residents and to discuss the scheme.

Southampton Protest Against Labour's Tax on Tenants

A delegation of Southampton tenants is today heading to Westminster to protest against Labour taxing their rent money. This year 10% of the rents paid by city tenants will be taken from the city to be spent in other parts of the country. In all £5.8m will be taken by the government, money which otherwise could have been spent on improving our council homes and estates.

Southampton's housing stock is in desparate need of improvements and the city has some of the most deprevied areas in the South East. As well as directing tenants rents away from Southampton, locally the government is forcing up the rents by an 6% this year, double the rate of inflation.

Click HERE for more information on the lobby due to take place today.

Earlier this week the Prime Minster and his Cabinet visited the city. Rather than meeting with local groups like pensioners and tenants to hear their concerns, the visit consisted merely of a series of photo shoots. The Cabinet ducked critical issues like the chronic government under funding of the city and the appropriation of council tenants' rents.