Poplar HARCA: Trojan Horse of Gentrification and Social Cleansing

 

New luxury flats in Balfron Tower


Like many so called social housing organisations, Poplar HARCA, based in Tower Hamlets, makes out that it is a custodian of the working class and poor in terms of housing.

But the record of Poplar HARCA speaks otherwise. On the Aberfeldy Estate it replaced 297 units (211 of which were social housing and 86 leasehold bought under Right-to-Buy) with 170 at “affordable” rents (55 to 65% of market rates) 20 at intermediate rents (80% of market rates) and 986 for private sale. On the Leopold Estate it demolished 152 flats (135 social housing and 17 leasehold bought under Right-to-Buy) with 19 social housing units, 52 units at “affordable” rents, 36 for shared ownership and 256 for private sale.

At Balfron Tower, Poplar HARCA decanted the social tenants there with the excuse that the building needed refurbishing. They were not allowed to return and Poplar HARCA is selling the units on the private market. This means another 135 socially let homes taken away, with none to replace them. In the meantime the block has remained empty, losing HARCA millions in social rents. Balfron Tower was transferred to Steve Stride, the CEO of Poplar HARCA, back in 2007, after he signed an affidavit at the London County Court that he would not decant tenants.

Now there will be absolutely no social housing at Balfron Tower and all the flats will be for sale. There will, according to the Guardian, be a “high-spec cinema club, a music room complete with drum kit, a workshop, a library, a gym and a cooking and dining space for bigger soirees”! Steve Stride has very good relations with the Labour Mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs and their friendship goes back 39 years. Stride’s daughter, Suzy, was recommended for the Labour All Women’s shortlist for Poplar and Limehouse this year. You see all the connections? Biggs gives Stride and HARCA full rein to do what they like in Tower Hamlets, which means, in effect social cleansing and gentrification, as Strides scythes down more and more social housing. Meanwhile more and more functions of Tower Hamlets Youth Service are being handed over to HARCA by Biggs, and appear now to be under the control of Spotlight, HARCA’s youth service.

Biggs approved of what happened at Balfron Tower. One Labour councillor, Shiria Khatun, at a hearing on the decision to transform the Tower, failed to disclose her former and current interests in Poplar HARCA (she had been on its board) which should have made her ineligible to vote (later Khatun fell out with Biggs and she resigned from the council Cabinet, alleging bullying from Biggs).

More recently HARCA ordered the demolition of Jolles House on the Bow Bridge Estate (as well as the neighbouring Blue Anchor pub). This had 12 council flats. It has now been replaced by a block housing 13 social housing units (an increase of one!) and 57 shared ownership flats.

HARCA’s future plans include development of nearby Stroudley Walk. They decanted tenants from an 11-storey block, which has now remained empty for years. This provided 52 units of social housing. They now plan to build 274 units, 82 of which will be “affordable” housing, and 33 shared ownership with no look in for social housing.

Poplar HARCA are building homes for sale to rich investors and owner-occupiers, with little provision for social housing. In addition, Poplar HARCA, following the megalomaniac dreams of Stride, “are leading a £2.5bn place-shaping programme including new homes, education, healthcare, faith buildings, business and community spaces.” Poplar HARCA are also involved in setting up various Cafes, including the Viewtube Cafe in the Olympic Park in Newham, not even in Tower Hamlets.

Poplar HARCA has a long standing relationship with the property developer Telford Homes, involved in the exploitation of Balfron Tower. The odious Poplar HARCA flunkey Simon Carroll now works for Telford Homes as Engagement Coordinator for developing Chrisp Street Market. This long established market which provides cheap food and clothing has long been in HARCA’s sights for gentrification. It has deliberately run down the market so that it can then be gobbled up as a tasty morsel for Telford Homes, decanting tenants from surrounding social housing.

Stephen Green served for many years on the board of Poplar HARCA. Green is of course now Lord Green, Baron Green of Hurstpierpont and Tory peer. Green served as the chairman of HSBC during the years of dodgy accounts, earning £3million a year in the post. He left the HARCA board in 1998. He was replaced on the HARCA board by Bernadette Conroy, also an HSBC official. She was HSBC’s Global Head of Planning and Strategy and sat on HARCA’s finance and audit committee and Chair of the HARCA board. She left HARCA after six years.

Taylor Adams is currently on HARCA’s Finance and General Purposes Committee and works for HSBC.

Why are bankers and business people serving on the board of an organisation supposedly pledged to providing social housing? More than this, why were and are former and present officials of HSBC, serving on HARCA, when HSBC was involved in enabling money laundering by Mexican drug lords (chiefly for the Sinaloa Cartel), and had conducted business with companies with links to terrorism (according to an investigation by the US Senate) In addition they enabled more than 100,000 clients from over 200 countries to evade tax worth hundreds of millions of pounds through HSBC’s Swiss private bank.

There is a strange smell in the air in Tower Hamlets. It hangs over Poplar HARCA, Tower Hamlets Council and the local Labour Party. It couldn’t possibly be the smell of corruption, no sir.

 

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