MRMX9

Whatever happens I hope the government does not cave in. There are far too many cars on the road these days - particularly gas guzzlers. No wonder our kids are so fat and unhealthy because they are incapable of walking or getting the bus. Once the truck drivers start the blockades how about suspending their kids from school - if they don't like paying taxes for public services then why be able to use them!

The problem I have with a flat rate tax is that while the very rich would pay less average earners (including some already in the 40% bracket) would almost certainly pay more to offset this.

We should of course have sympathy for the long term unemployed in parts of the country where there is no work available. Unfortunately there are a lot of long term unemployed people in London where there are supposedly hundreds of thousands of job vacancies. In areas like Dagenham (only 20 minutes from the City by tube) more than a quarter of young people aged 16-24 are not in education, employment or training. In Newham around half of adults aged 18-64 are economically inactive according to the ONS. In Westminster alone the Council is required to pay out £150m (yes £150m!) a year in housing benefit to subsidise people to live in the most expensive area in the country. If these people took low paid jobs they would lose their housing benefit and potentially be forced to move somewhere cheaper. So what is the incentive for them to get off benefit. I would love to live rent free in St Johns Wood or Pimlico but unless I go on the dole I will never be able to afford to do so. It is an absolute scandal!

It's frightening that they are still planning to build 30,000+ new homes on the flood plain at Barking Reach and Dagenham Dock. Some will even be 'luxury riverside apartments' apparently like the £250k tower block flats already being built at Thamesmead. Wouldn't it be so much easier to relocate some of the council tenants (excluding pensioners/the disabled of course!) on full housing benefit out of central London to these new Thames Gateway builds. You could then 'gate' these developments and allow the male residents to have 'shared ownership' in each of the five houses of the female residents who they have got pregnant in the last five years. Well - it is Dagenham which has the highest proportion of young people not in education, employment or training in England and Wales despite only being 20 minutes from the City by train! This would free up centrally located affordable housing for people who actually work for a living.

There are a lot of new build shared ownership schemes starting up in some of the more upmarket developments in central London. Notting Hill HA (incl St George's Wharf at Vauxhall Bridge) http://www.nottinghillonline.com/pid406_Ne...ild_Schemes.htm Threshold KeyHomes (including two schemes in London SW1 near Parliament and at Chelsea Bridge Wharf) http://www.thresholdkeyhomes.co.uk/ Newton HA (lots of new build around the new Arsenal Stadium) www.shared-ownership.co.uk As usual they are mainly reserved for council/HA tenants and so called 'key'workers - some like the St George's scheme however are open to any first time buyer. Saying that Notting Hill are selling these apartments without flooring, light fittings, mirrors, fixtures etc so you would have to do a fair bit of work before moving in (& no parking!). More will no doubt come on stream - can't see only 30 shared ownership properties in Westminster solving the affordable housing shortage there though in the short term! Anyone think these are safer bets longterm - location location?

Sorry - I was talking about Redbridge borough (not Ilford town centre). North Ilford (i.e. north of the A12 Eastern Avenue) which covers Barkingside, Gants Hill, Wanstead, Newbury Park are all nice suburban areas with no council estates and in zone 4 on the Central Line (plus accessible via the overground to Liverpool St). Ilford town centre is also a pretty good local shopping centre! Redbridge also has the best state schools in the country according to the DfES league tables which may be of relevance if you have kids.

According to Hometrack isn't Newham one of the few places where prices are supposed to be going up due to the Olympics effect. I know East Ham is at the opposite end of the borough to Stratford but this is surely a sign that the market is going downhill fast.

Well said! Even though the Stratford Square scheme has been around for months they are still trying to get rid of these flats. Saying that who in the current climate is mad enough to pay £295k for a two bed flat when you can buy a three bed house in the same area for a lot less. I know the Olympics are coming but the whole area will be a building site for the next 7 years. If only most of the council tenants could be shifted out of the area to the 'new build riverside schemes' being built at Dagenham Riverside/Barking Reach so that the area really could be gentrified. Its a sad statistic but more than 50% of 18-64 year olds in Newham according to the ONS are not in education, training or employment so no wonder crime is so high.

I think that people will have to accept that shared ownership (or a private developer's shared equity scheme) is the only way for people on average pay to get into the property market in inner London. It is probably less appropriate for other parts of the country where prices are cheaper. Saying that buying only half a home and renting the rest at a cheap rent does not seem that ridiculous to me in the current market. If there is a crash you can buy the balance more cheaply - if prices rise then your equity stake has risen but your rent will not increase as the housing association's loan repayment won't go up. This seems far more sensible than risking buying 100% of a property or paying full market rent for a rented flat. It is a pity, however, that the keyworker schemes are so restrictive - why is a teacher more important than the school caretaker or a social worker more important than a local authority accountant whose job is to keep the books balanced & council taxes low. Let alone people who work in the private sector.

Redbridge (Wanstead, Ilford etc) is quite a nice place to live or Leytonstone (zone 3). The prices are relatively cheap without the crime problems found in other dodgier areas. It also has fast overground links into Liverpool Street or on the central line. Try looking at Loot - this will give you more ideas of what is available.

A lot of these Shared Ownership (SO) schemes are starting to appear in some of the posher new builds on the Thames in central London - but they are not as generous as they initially seem. One interesting example is the St George Wharf (SO) scheme on Vauxhall Bridge which is being managed by Notting Hill Housing Association: http://www.nottinghillonline.com/pid408&id...e_Ownership.asp Unsurprisingly the developers have placed the affordable housing (social rented as well as shared ownership) in a separate tower block - the only one without river views (i.e. you face the Vauxhall Cross roundabout). Not only are the shared ownership flats sold without furnishings, floor coverings, window dressings or light fittings but the potential buyers could end up being surrounded by council tenants who will get all these fittings for free along with a very cheap rent. Threshold HA are also offering shared ownership flats in several exclusive developments in Wandsworth and Westminster: http://www.thresholdkeyhomes.co.uk/ I am a little surprised that even under shared ownership someone on £30k would be allowed to buy a £315k flat in the heart of Westminster on Marsham Street. Never in a million years would anyone on this salary ever be able to buy their flat outright. Still I would rather keyworkers received state help to buy a home in Westminster than some of the workshy scroungers living there on housing benefit. It is incredible that Westminster Council is required to pay out £150m a year in housing benefit to subsidise people to live there - more than double what it spends on schools!