Tenants bid to take over London council estates receives backing

Tenants bid to take over London council estates backed A group of council tenants have received a boost to their campaign to save two estates in Hammersmith and Fulham after London Assembly Member Jenny Jones backed their bid. The estates have been threatened with demolition in line with plans supported by Mayor of London Boris Johnson to redevelop the area as part of the Earls Court project. Jones will meet tenants and community groups next week to discuss their bid, which she says will avoid unnecessary waste and a significant carbon impact. Hammersmith and Fulham council has written to the government to ask for support in refusing the takeover on the grounds that all existing tenants will be given new homes in the redevelopment. Public oppose cuts that drive up homelessness Research by Inside Housing and market research company Ipsos Mori has revealed that the public will not tolerate cuts to housing benefit if they lead to increased homelessness. The survey of more than 1,000 British adults also discovered that one in four people "strongly oppose" the cuts while 65% believe housing benefit spending should remain the same or rise. Paul Rees, the assistant director of the National Housing Federation, said the findings reflected a "growing sense of unease over the damage these reforms could cause to thousands of hard-up families and vulnerable people". Deborah Shackleton to step down as Riverside chief executive The chief executive of Riverside, one of the UK's leading housing and regeneration organisations, is stepping down after 12 years . Deborah Shackleton joined Riverside in 1993 as development director and has more than 30 years' experience in the housing sector. She will retire in December. After being appointed chief executive in 2000, she was honoured with a CBE in 2000 for her services to housing. "It has been a privilege and a pleasure to work with so many talented and dedicated people who work tirelessly day in and day out to make a difference to tenants and communities," she said. "I will miss Riverside, but am sure it will go from strength to strength."