PricedOut Newsletter, March - June 2008
Thanks for your interest in the PricedOut campaign,
here's our latest news.
In this newsletter:
- Media - We’ve had increasing interest from the media we
need your help to cover all the press requests we get.
- Lobbying & Recent Housing News - We met with Iain Wright
(Junior Housing Minister) as part of the Review of the Private
Rented Sector and are aiming to meet with Caroline
Flint (Housing Minister) soon. Plus our views on the recent fall in house
prices.
- Property Tools - Web sites to help you take advantage of
falling house prices.
- Taking Action and our next protest - How can you make a
difference?
Media
PricedOut continues to attract a lot of media interest.
Press interest in the campaign has increased as house prices have begun to fall,
with the media interested in our reaction. Our reaction tends to be, "Good news
that house prices are adjusting to affordable levels, no we don't want a
recession, but we do want the Government and banks to recognise the many
mistakes that allowed house prices to get out of control!"
We feel that press interest in the campaign is testament to the fact that we
represent a significant number of people in the UK from all walks of life who
find themselves either priced out of the property market, or negatively affected
in some way by the shortage of affordable housing.
Our recent press appearances include Radio Five's Wake Up to Money programme,
a BBC housing documentary set to air in July and BBC News 24, as well as
additional articles in print.
The press often want to find people in particular scenarios, for example:
people facing re-possession, key-workers, etc. If you are willing to share your
views and/or experiences with the press, we'd always love to hear from you, and
ask you to contact Katy@pricedout.org.uk.
Lobbying & Recent Housing News
A team from PricedOut met with Iain Wright
(Junior Housing Minister) to bring our views to the Government's Review of the Private
Rented Sector. We are aware that a lot of investors and developers will be
making themselves heard loud and clear, and we want to make sure that our
alternative views are heard strongly too. This includes continuing to campaign
for better rights for tenants, an issue that is central to the campaign. A full
report on this meeting can be found here.
We're watching Gordon Brown's 3 million new affordable homes target, which
he's already admitted is looking a little shaky. We believe that building more
homes is a high priority, particularly affordable homes, and will continue to
campaign the Government on keeping this promise.
We were a little outraged at Gordon Brown's announcement that he was
introducing more shared ownership schemes in the same week that Carline
Flint accidentally leaked a document stating that house prices are set to
fall 5-10% this year. While more affordable housing is always good, trying to
get first time buyers to access these schemes at a time when the market is so
vulnerable is, at best, irresponsible. We are also opposed to any scheme that
uses public money to prop up prices at unaffordable levels.
We are still keen to get involved at a local Government level via the
development of Regional
Spatial Strategies. If you'd like to represent PricedOut at
a local level in this way, please let us know.
Property Tools
If you want to negotiate a better price take a look at the following web
sites:
Taking Action & Our Next Protest
We are planning a publicity stunt on Parliament Square soon and will keep you
posted. We'd love to see as many people there as possible if you're able to join
us - details to follow. Our plan is to use this to generate additional press
interest in the campaign and use this to build awareness.
How can you make a difference?
- Please write to your MP about your views on housing,
especially if housing is an area of interest to them. Otherwise try writing to
Vince
Cable, who often airs his views on the housing affordability crisis in
Parliament.
You could also try writing to one or more of the Housing
Ministers:
To find out more about your MP, including their registered interests and
parliamentary speeches, visit TheyWorkForYou.com (www.theyworkforyou.com).
- Press appearances - in London and other areas. We’re
unable to attend all of the press opportunities we’re offered - please let us
know if you'd be willing to appear on TV or radio on behalf of PricedOut.
- Join our next protest!
- Represent PricedOut in your area at a local Government
level by representing us via Regional
Spatial Strategies, forums which consult on planning and housing
developments.
Please email us (Katy@pricedout.org.uk) if you’re able to
get involved with any of the above and please stay involved in the campaign -
thank you.
Until next time...
The PricedOut team
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