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Haringey Council facing battle over plan to use a CPO on flats in unsafe blocks
A north London council is facing a battle with a residents’ association over its plan to issue seizure orders for flats in two blocks set for demolition.
Haringey Council decided in November 2018 to knock down its Tangmere and Northolt blocks on the Broadwater Farm Estate after structural surveys identified them as unsafe.
The blocks were built using a large panel system (LPS) construction method, associated with the deadly Ronan Point disaster in 1968.
Over the past two years, the council has been moving tenants out of the blocks and negotiating buybacks with leaseholders in order for the works to go ahead.
As of 29 September, 18 leasehold flats had been acquired by the council with 19 still to go – of which 10 owners have agreed to sell.
Councillors agreed at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday night to issue a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for the nine remaining leasehold flats for which no agreement has been reached.
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An officer’s report presented to councillors said the CPO “is necessary due to the extensive timescale and resources expended in acquiring all of the third-party properties by private treaty spanning approximately two years to date, which puts at risk residents’ safety”.
Representatives from Broadwater Farm Residents’ Association attended the meeting to protest the proposals.
In a statement, the group said leaseholders are “facing a forced sale that is ultimately due to negligence at the time the blocks were built”.
It claimed that the prices offered to leaseholders – which included £160,000 for a one-bedroom flat in Northolt – “will in no way cover the cost of comparable accommodation in Tottenham as a whole”.
“We strongly suggest that Haringey Council should not be issuing CPOs now,” it added.
“Haringey Council should, instead, make significantly increased offers to leaseholders that are in line with general Tottenham market values.”
Emine Ibrahim, cabinet member for housing and estate renewal at Haringey Council, said: “The amounts being offered by the council are based on market value and [this] is carried out by an organisation certified by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. They are not based on the council’s perception of value.
“The council has also offered to pay for leaseholders to have their own valuations completed which can be used as a basis for negotiation.”
Some private valuations have led leaseholders to ask for 50% more than they are being offered by the council, the officer’s report said.
Ms Ibrahim added that negotiations will continue despite the decision to issue a CPO and that the council is committed to “being flexible” in its offers to leaseholders.
The council is also offering leaseholders an equity loan to help them buy new homes in the area.
It said that the blocks, which together contain 218 flats, cost more than £600,000 a year to keep secure.
Councillors have committed to redeveloping at least the same number of council homes, with £68m set aside in the Housing Revenue Account to pay for the work including demolition.
Several councils across England have uncovered major safety issues at blocks built using LPS methods since 2017, with concerns they could be at risk of progressive collapse following an explosion.
Residents were urgently moved out of six-storey Tangmere in 2018 after it was found to fail the strength standard even for LPS blocks without piped gas while a supply remained in the building.
Northolt, which has 18 storeys, did not have a piped gas supply but still failed safety tests.
The council estimated that necessary work to bring the blocks up to standard would cost £32.6m.
