Haringey Council has today come under attack by Haringey Liberal Democrats for its lack of ambition for new council housing in the borough after it was revealed that it failed to apply for extra funding to build new council houses.

The revelation came in the response to a direct plea for Haringey from local MP, Lynne Featherstone, to the Housing minister as soon as it was discovered Haringey was omitted from the September announcement.

Under the scheme six London boroughs shared grants worth £28.5m to build 322 homes – money Haringey had no chance of winning because of its not applying for the scheme.

Commenting, Lynne Featherstone MP says:

“Haringey obviously meets the need threshold, it’s a shame its leaders do not meet the aspiration threshold.

“Time and time again this Labour-run council fails to make the case to its own Government for Haringey. We see this with unfair funding for schools and now with housing.

“I desperately hope they will get their act together to apply for the second round of funding before it is too late.”

Cllr Matt Davies, Haringey Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesperson, adds:

“This news comes as a bitter blow in the fight for better housing for our borough. It is sad to learn that Haringey Council is not seizing every opportunity to address the chronic housing shortage in our area.”

Haringey Council has failed to win funding for new council homes despite the London Borough of Haringey’s chronic housing shortage, it has been revealed.

Haringey Liberal Democrats have attacked the ruling Labour administration for their failure to successfully lobby their own government for a better housing deal, following an announcement last week that Labour intends to build 2,000 new homes.

The missed opportunity comes on the back of a string of failures to obtain fair funding deals for Haringey’s residents, including equal per pupil funding for the Borough’s school children and inadequate financial assistance to support people seeking asylum.

Liberal Democrat MP, Lynne Featherstone, has written to the Housing Minister, urging him reconsider the failure to include Haringey in this or future waves of the programme.

Commenting, Lynne Featherstone says:

“My weekly surgery is packed with families who desperately need new homes today. Yet again, Haringey Labour has failed to stick up for these people.

“Now, not only do our school children not get a fair deal, but neither do people waiting to be housed. The case for Haringey is so strong – the Government must reconsider.”

Councillor Matt Davies, Haringey Liberal Democrat Housing champion, adds:

“This is such a disappointment for the Borough, particularly given the urgent housing needs of local residents. Even though the numbers to be built are small, they would have been a step in the right direction.

“How the Labour-run Council could fail make the case for Haringey is beyond me. The Government must change its mind.”

Note: Haringey currently has approximately 12,000 residents on the housing waiting list and 4403 in temporary accommodation.

Money set aside to repair local residents’ homes was raided by Haringey Council’s Labour Cabinet last week, after it was  forced to pump yet more taxpayers’ money into the troubled ‘Decent Homes’ programme. Over £5 million was diverted from Haringey Council’s Major Repairs Fund to plug a gap in the Decent Homes budget, due to a Labour overspend on digital aerials and pitched roofs.

Only last month it was revealed that the Decent Homes project was £26 million in the red. The Homes for Haringey Gateway Report showed that the project overspent on items that were not shown in the original budget. This threatens work to homes still to be improved by the four year Decent Homes programme.

Local Liberal Democrats, concerned at the continual problems with the Decent Homes programme, have questioned Labour’s ability to control such large financial projects.

Cllr Matt Davies, Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesperson, comments:

“This project is rapidly descending into a financial farce. Sadly, once again, it is the Haringey taxpayer and council leaseholders who will have to pick up the tab for Labour’s financial incompetence.

“The Council’s own report shows that the Decent Homes project is over-budget, thanks to the massive overspend on digital aerials and pitched roofs.

“It may be desirable to have these, but you do not spend money that you do not have and which was never in the original budget.

“Now, Labour have had to dip into the Major Repairs Fund, which was already allocated for urgent repairs, to bail out the Decent Homes Project. It clearly demonstrates yet another Labour financial project that is out of control.”

Lynne Featherstone MP adds:

“This is more evidence of a council in crisis. Council leaseholders are being used as a cash cow, to hide Labour’s financial incompetence in the Decent Homes programme. They have had to fork out over £1000 each, to fund Labour’s reckless spending.”