Demolition of “cold, damp, temporary homes” comment raises hackles at Milton Keynes virtual meeting

A committee was discussing Milton Keynes Council’s approach to regeneration and renewal when fault lines between political parties caused tremors.

Bletchley Park Conservative Allan Rankine told Thursday’s regeneration scrutiny committee that he is “very concerned about the levels of poverty in Milton Keynes ” and slammed the Labour leadership over a lack of regeneration action.

“it’s a lightweight strategy,” he said. “There’s nothing measurable in it and it’s disappointing to people who are sitting in their cold, damp, temporary 50 year old houses in Fishermead wanting to know what’s going to happen.

“There’s absolutely nothing being said about these households or those in Beanhill, or Woughton. We’ve been planning a strategy for five years. Action plans should be happening now.”

Cllr Rankine’s comment about people living in “cold, damp, temporary” homes left a Labour opponent puzzled.

“I’m not quite sure where Allan Rankine got his idea of people shivering in temporary houses in Fishermead,” said Cllr Martin Petchey (Stantonbury).

“I’m speaking to you now from a very nicely permanent house in Fishermead.

“It’s not the houses in Fishermead that need attention, it’s an awful lot of other social issues.”

Cllr Petchey said the council’s new regeneration and renewal strategy “kills the idea that regeneration is somehow to do with wholesale demolition of houses.

“This was the thing that really haunted my residents in Bradville. They saw absolutely no need for their houses to be demolished.

“The most important thing about regeneration, or renewal, or whatever we call it are health, wealth, education and the jobs of those people, not the bricks and mortar.”

Cllr Hannah O’Neill, Labour’s cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said the council had earmarked £250,000, including £100,000 on tackling inequalities among black and minority ethnic (BAME) households.

She said the council wants to start local projects, such as cooking clubs and walking groups, and attract money into estates from the NHS. Their strategies are also looking at investing in council homes.

But Tory leader Cllr Alex Walker (Stantonbury) said health is linked to housing, and small things like walking clubs wouldn’t solve issues.

“Try and think long term,” he said. “It needs more than £250,000.

“Giving somewhere a lick of paint and new bathrooms is not going to achieve what you want to achieve.”

But Cllr O’Neill hit back, saying that Government-inspired cuts over the last 10 years had made things worse for people.

“I would like to spend more than £250,000, if it wasn’t for 10 years of cuts and attacks on people.

“It needs to happen with big money. We could do so much more if we had the money to do it,” she added.

The committee is planning to keep scrutinising the issues, and wants to change its name to the “regeneration and renewal scrutiny committee”.

Some councillors, but not all, believe that the word “regeneration” has become a dirty word in MK.