19/07/2018
Haringey Council Cancels HDV Agreement
Haringey Council has formally decided to cancel the Haringey Development Vehicle agreement with Lendlease, which had intended to create over 6000 new homes along with new employment space in the borough.
The decision was taken by the council’s cabinet. It is not a surprise, as the local election Labour manifesto for the elections earlier in 2018 pomised the HDV would be cancelled. The council is understood to face costs of over £500,000 for the cancellation.
Dan Labbad, chief executive of international operations for Lendlease, addressed the meeting and asked them to defer the decision pending further talks. He also said: “it’s the residents of Haringey who will suffer most from this decision, given that 10,000 families remain in desperate need of a home”. The same cabinet meeting also agreed to set up a council owned company which will deliver new council housing – another manifesto promise.Cllr Joseph Ejiofor, Leader of Haringey Council, said: “The preference of this administration, as stated in our manifesto, is to build council homes on our own land. We firmly believe that what is currently public land should remain in public ownership. We are committed to building new, affordable homes over the next four years – including the delivery of 1000 new council homes – and we start from the principle the council should be delivering those homes itself.
“The proposed Haringey Development Vehicle (HDV) has shown how strongly opinions differ about the best way to tackle those important issues. Building on the commitments we made during the recent elections, we have now taken decisive action to set a new direction for the council, with this final decision that the HDV will not now go ahead. We know a decision like this should not be taken lightly, in the same way that we know we have a duty to listen to all voices in our local communities.
“We are obviously concerned at the threat of protracted legal action by Lendlease, however the people of Haringey elected us to govern their borough, and to take decisions that are in the best interests of all Haringey’s residents. As set out in the Cabinet report, this is an informed decision which we are taking with our eyes open.”