In spring, the first ex-shorthold tenants moved back onto Wordsworth Drive and Sugar Hill Close- hopefully to enjoy a settled life in their new Leeds Fed housing association homes (see the previous blog on the Readman’s move across). From here on, the main thrust of the SaveOurHomes LS26 fight is over.
We failed to prevent demolition and eviction, but we succeeded in pressuring the landlord to sell the estate and Leeds City Council to fund it turning into affordable housing. A win worth celebrating!
We join the likes of FocusE15 and New Era in London and Foxhill in Bath – campaigners who successfully kicked up enough of a stink that landlords and councils have had to work with residents and tenants for affordable and secure alternatives.
But the fight for quality, genuinely affordable homes for everyone – tenant or owner – is far from over. So, as you’ll have seen from the website landing page, I’m turning this website into a resource with information on what we did, lessons learned along the way, resources we found valuable, and ongoing reflections on the state of Britain’s housing (mainly via this blog page).
As an editorial note, most of the posts will be written by me, Jess Field (daughter of ex-8 Wordsworth Drive residents Hazell and Mark Field and historian/writer), though I’m really keen for contributions from others on any/all things related to housing insecurity. Likewise, if you have any activist resources that I can upload and share – send them along. You can get in touch via the Contact page.
Thank you for reading!
~ Jess
#SaveOurHomesLS26 