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Issue 95

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Unless there is a seachange, Lewisham council cabinet will rubber-stamp an internal report citing "a compelling case" in the public interest for residents to sell their homes to developer Renewal – who have been buying up land around Millwall F.C.'s stadium, the New Den in South Bermondsey, for 12 years – despite opposition from all sides. Opposition within the council has been led by Alan Hall who said: "Renewal was going to pay for the new station at Surrey Canal Road – the taxpayer is now funding that; there was a multi-faith centre planned for Lewisham's diverse communities – that is now a cathedral-sized church for Christian evangelists from Australia.[Furthermore], the ever-shrinking proposed 'sporting village' will drive away one of football's most famous clubs and it's highly successful community scheme providing opportunities for Lewisham's young people." Alan Hall is chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, who have raised concerns that the developers, Renewal, have never attempted a project of this size and are not providing any social housing in their new plans. The company's two owners are also based in tax havens. Lewisham Council have historic links to Renewal. Former Mayor of Lewisham David Sullivan founded Renewal in 2002 (shortly after he resigned as Mayor). Mushtaq Malik – a former housing officer at Lewisham – is now chief executive of Renewal. The pair also held management positions in a company called ServiceTeam in the 1990s, which took on contracts from councils. One of these contracts in Lambeth ended sooner than planned, after 26,000 complaints about quality of service led to a strike. Walking around South Bermondsey it is almost impossible to find someone in favour of this scheme. Local residents and businesses are not happy about the potential loss of their homes, work and even football ground. Richard Pickering, owner of the Millwall Café, who faces a forced sale of his business, said: "The only beneficiaries of this decision are those in Renewal who appear to include a significant number of ex- Council officials." Local residents are also not happy with the offers being made by the council for their homes and businesses: "We consider the offer [for the Millwall Cafe] derisory," said Pickering. "By the time we've paid off the bank loan, staff redundancies and the initial costs, it won't leave enough to buy a similar business." Winston Willow, a local artist, claimed she was offered £58,000 for her home by the developers, which she says is a 10th of its value. London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has also failed to act on this case despite running his campaign on housing and transparency of deals. The local Labour Party commented "All members of Lewisham Labour Group, be they executive or non-executive members, work and apply themselves in their public service in the best interest of Lewisham. 6 ISSUE 95 / 2016 REAL MEDIA REAL MEDIA Your Boss May Have Already Earned Your Yearly Wage! Fat Cat Wednesday is the day when bosses' pay overtakes workers' entire 2017 earnings. Research from the High Pay Centre shows January 4th is the day in 2017 when the aver- age pay received since the beginning of the year by CEOs from the FTSE 100 companies, overtakes average worker salaries (Yes, that's 4 days). By the end of January 4th these CEOs had earned over £28,000 – surpassing the aver- age salary in the UK. The High Pay Centre has marked this day for the last few years to highlight inequalities in pay and earnings in the UK. Real Media is publishing the daily diary of Tina Louise Rothery from Nanas Against Fracking, as she helps resi- dents at Preston New Road oppose a fracking site. This excerpt comes from an entry at the end of the first week: "For a week now, local residents gathered each morning at 9am to agree ways to ensure we stop Cuadrilla fracking at Preston New Road. Between us we devised the initial stag- es of what we thought would create the best circumstances for us to achieve our aims. "This site is unlike any other in the UK; usually we find proposed frack sites in more remote areas. This one is in a residential area on the busy Preston New Road. "Here at this site, residents have fought hard for years in councils, courts, parliament, streets, MPs offices, public meetings, industry events and everywhere in-between and clear- ly want to stop the industry. It is also clear though – they want to try it first in a peaceful, safe and yet effective way – how that looks is unclear but unfolding. "We are finding our way and it is unfamiliar – but I think that's good. I know my body will end up somewhere between a drill and earth if it comes to it but will do everything I can to NOT meet that stage. I don't know any in this movement who will give-up or give-in until we drive the frackers out." Public interest journalism campaigning against mass media distortion Lewisham Council look set to approve the forced sale of people's homes to an offshore developer with longstanding links to the council. LEWISHAM COUNCIL TO FORCE RESIDENTS TO SELL TO OFFSHORE DEVELOPERS

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