THE LEADER of Enfield Council has written to the leader of Harlow Council to confirm they will be relocating residents away from Harlow and back to Enfield.

Leader of the Enfield Council, Nesil Caliskan said:

Dear Mark

It was good to meet you recently and I am writing to confirm the action we will take as a result of our discussions and the concerns you raised with me.

I appreciate that you understand the severe impact that the national housing crisis is having across the country, including in Enfield and Harlow.

I believe that we share a commitment to securing changes that will make a difference for our residents. This includes lobbying Government for an increase in Local Housing Allowance so that residents can afford to rent homes in the private sector; as well as additional Government funding to support a house building programme that will secure more Council homes at social rent levels. It was disappointing that the Government spending review omitted these two important areas.

I am also calling for the abolition of Right to Buy so that we preserve our Council homes in Enfield for those in need. In my Borough, it is not unusual for half of homes sold to now be let by private landlords at market rents – clearly not serving a role in enabling low income families to own their home.

In relation to our temporary accommodation needs, due to the severe pressures we faced, we started using Redstone House, in Harlow Town Centre in early 2015.

During our occupation we have worked to ensure the building is well managed and tenants are supported. However, I want to accommodate our families in Enfield, preserving the social networks that they have, and we recognise that with the challenges faced by both Enfield and Harlow town centres, temporary accommodation is not an ideal form of accommodation for this area.

I should also advise you that our wholly own housing company Housing Gateway Ltd own a block of flats in Harlow (Greenway House) that we are using as temporary accommodation. I intend writing to the Chair of Housing Gateway to make him aware of the issues as we discussed at our recent meeting. I can confirm that since becoming Leader I have asked Housing Gateway not to buy any properties outside the Borough.

Further, since our meeting, I have asked Enfield Council officers to exit from Redstone House. This will mean we will:

With immediate effect, stop allocating to this block

Prioritise eligible cases for moves to accommodation that is not temporary Support residents with arrears to clear their account wherever possible to
enable a move

It is not possible to give a firm timescale for full decommissioning of Redstone House as the supply of 2-bedroom accommodation is both scarce and unpredictable, but we are aiming to vacate the building in the region of 6 months.

If you have any other issues you’d like to raise with me, please do get in touch anytime.

Yours sincerely

Councillor Nesil Caliskan Leader of Enfield Council