The £1.2bn luxury development in central London with no social housing

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  • Опубліковано 1 жов 2022
  • The Old War Office has been one of London's most famous landmarks for more than 100 years. Now, it's being developed into 85 luxury flats and a 120-room Raffles hotel with an underground swimming pool, three gym studios, a spa and a 16-seat cinema, but it won't include any affordable housing.
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    The UK’s two richest people, the Hinduja brothers, have been allowed to avoid planning rules that should have required them to build 98 affordable flats for key workers, after the then Conservative-led Westminster council agreed it would 'not be economically feasible'
    Luxury flats project by UK’s two richest people has no social housing ► www.theguardian.com/news/2022...
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    #OWO #oldwaroffice #raffles #socialhousing #housingcrisis #politics #business #wealth #luxuryflats #raffleshotel #hinduja #hindujabrothers

КОМЕНТАРІ • 348

  • @theGuardian
    @theGuardian  Рік тому +24

    UK’s richest people avoid social housing rules in £1.2bn London flats project ► www.theguardian.com/news/2022/oct/02/luxury-flats-richest-people-social-housing-hinduja-old-war-office

    • @berlinheights8516
      @berlinheights8516 Рік тому

      Whitehall is precisely where we need social housing. The poorest in society should live in a more central and exclusive address than 99% of the population. Economists would claim you could have many times more affordable housing elsewhere for the same cost as x number of flats here but they miss the point, Tories are evil.

    • @cv507
      @cv507 Рік тому

      ill take my Flänkönnjän hill-pilLi€ vPy
      4:02 the cönstünt... Rite in ouR ´€y€z.-
      5:00 lip öil öFF päl me ^$^
      5:45 a Fevv yeärs bäck... in ...minstäre ?xP

  • @Maxime_K-G
    @Maxime_K-G Рік тому +74

    Imagine if we did that on our taxes. "I'm sorry but my viability consultant has told me that given the circumstances 25% would already be generous enough this year"

  • @Mathemagical55
    @Mathemagical55 Рік тому +157

    It's ridiculous to force luxury developments to include 30% affordable housing. Just charge a levy which the council must use to actually build affordable housing. The problem is that the developers don't pay an appropriate amount and the council don't actually use the money to build any new flats.

    • @asleepawake3645
      @asleepawake3645 Рік тому +3

      Problem is the developers are the ones who know how to build flats properly. A 30% levy would be too much for developers and the council would waste it. The problem is developers don't want to integrate the classes of the ultra rich with common folk, so enclaves and division occurrs. This should easily be solved by proper design.

    • @organizedchaos4559
      @organizedchaos4559 Рік тому +13

      @@asleepawake3645 lmao then charge the buyers. If you can offer a 40 million flat then you can afford an extra 30 percent. If not then stop trying to show off with a 40 million dollar flat. Also just tax empty apartments used as investments. If you have money for investments then you have money for an extra 15 percent.

    • @couldbeanybody2508
      @couldbeanybody2508 Рік тому

      I agree but that's why the "donation" tax is in effect, to collect money from affluent individuals to alleviate the poorest people's problems. Corrupt government officials like in this case just let them get away with it.

    • @guerriosPG
      @guerriosPG Рік тому +7

      Just explain to me where do you build affordable housing NOT in close proximity to luxury developments in Westminster?? It's just impossible. There is literally no place. If you don't want to kick people from the borough they lived all their life the new comers (i.e luxury tenant / buyer) need to accepte living close to them.

    • @xtnabcn
      @xtnabcn Рік тому +11

      Why is it ridiculous to have affordable housing in a luxury building? Poor people are just as worthy of a nice flat as rich people. Maybe even more worthy of it: poor people are the ones that work to make the city function and need a place to live, while rich people often buy it as an investment and then resell.

  • @philipehusani
    @philipehusani Рік тому +58

    I'm sorry, but why would you have social housing in a building such as that? That's a luxury building, not council housing.

    • @dale1444
      @dale1444 Рік тому +5

      I think he’s saying there spending billions on rich nowt on poor

    • @philipehusani
      @philipehusani Рік тому +23

      @@dale1444 Nope, he's saying they should have some social housing in the building, they did the same thing to the Battersea Power Station... I don't understand it. If I'm paying millions for an apartment, I don't know how I'll feel about that.
      These people really think they deserve to live in some luxury building in Central London.

    • @ROTHSTEIN01
      @ROTHSTEIN01 Рік тому +5

      @@philipehusani i can't believe they forced developers to pay 40 million into that currupt fund. Insane.

    • @activistbook3809
      @activistbook3809 Рік тому +2

      @@ROTHSTEIN01 they paid ten not 40 ... and should been more

    • @JoaoGabriel-iy4lm
      @JoaoGabriel-iy4lm Рік тому

      It is the law!

  • @patrizia.cavaliere
    @patrizia.cavaliere Рік тому +85

    Same in the compound where I’m living. It’s a 5 star hotel style compound and no affordable flats around at all. My and all other’s landlords aren’t even in England, they’re in Hong Kong and most people living here(including me) are not from London. I don’t see the problem with having affordable housing near me, why should I?? It’s ridiculous!
    I’m from Germany where living standards are a much different thing, I’m shocked to see the kind of flats low income people are living in. It’s illegal to let people live like this in Germany. Just to point out the differences!

    • @ROTHSTEIN01
      @ROTHSTEIN01 Рік тому +6

      Because Germans are intelligent?

    • @borderlord
      @borderlord Рік тому

      Germany has a much better system in so many ways.
      British governments are happy to sell the family silver for quick money!

    • @RRaymer
      @RRaymer Рік тому +1

      I live in Germany but worked in the UK. Why do you lie? The same problems in England are here in Germany too. Middle easterners buying up real estate and pushing prices forcing people to be homeless. One thing that differs is that we generally rent and they own.

    • @MrObliviousegg
      @MrObliviousegg Рік тому +9

      Poor people shouldn't live in expensive areas, end of. Where I am from, spacious 4 bedroom detached houses with double garages are the same price as shoebox flats in London. If people want more for their money, move elsewhere or quit complaining.

    • @hmalik5232
      @hmalik5232 Рік тому +26

      @@MrObliviousegg Are you saying entire cities should only be for rich people? What’s wrong with you?

  • @beserker179
    @beserker179 Рік тому +15

    The UK's affordable housing policy is ridiculous. Instead of increasing the cost of private housing by adding this 30% affordable housing boondoggle (which in effect becomes an indirect tax on homeowners via higher housing costs), they should attack the root causes of the high cost of housing in the UK -- ridiculous zoning regulations that limit where housing can be built and how dense that housing can be. Adding cheap public transport to areas that are cheaper to live would also allow more people to live further away from the city center, where prices tend to be the highest.

  • @helenjackson9021
    @helenjackson9021 Рік тому +47

    Westminster Council will be lucky if they see any of that £10 million. I live across the river in Southwark, with similar developments. With Berkeley's One Blackfriars; the developers owed Southwark Council £29m towards social housing in the borough (reduced as they 'planned' to open a public roof terrace - which they changed their minds on. Shocker.) However it was reported that on completion that they'd 'not made profit' - no proof needed, just their good word - Southwark Council didn't see a penny in the end.

    • @MeiinUK
      @MeiinUK Рік тому

      We need an ICAC... and this is one of those illegal transaction situation that, it is not direct dealings with the King. So why should this not be traced and the money gotten back? I don't understand. Under any international transactions should be a series of proper due diligences.

    • @inspiredbynatureinspiredby5586
      @inspiredbynatureinspiredby5586 Рік тому +9

      The Hinduja Brothers should be forced to pay the required fee, make accommodations for the 98 units within this new Housing Project, or they should be forced out of the UK. These people come from a society where they don't even believe in equality with their Caste System and Kafala Systems. Take back your country England because these new recent immigrants don't have your best interests at heart and the current PM is definitely not the answer!

    • @marigoldbeam5475
      @marigoldbeam5475 Рік тому +1

      @@inspiredbynatureinspiredby5586 Funny how these 'brothers' from the same part of the world with the same ideologies, caste system, kafala, etc have caused havoc all over the world with the same greedy, scamming tendencies. The Gupta brothers, the Hindija brothers, Petty Patel, Rishi Sunak, Suella Braverman. All share the same spiteful qualities.

  • @carrington8999
    @carrington8999 Рік тому +8

    It’s central London why is there going council/affordable housing ? This video don’t make sense.

  • @johnblaze8774
    @johnblaze8774 Рік тому +51

    6:03 - Correction, no one is moving in. Places like these are just there for people to store their wealth. I'll tell you now, 95% of those homes will be unoccupied. The rest will be holiday homes for the odd day in the year these millionaires stay in London.

    • @evelynwoolston7
      @evelynwoolston7 Рік тому +15

      And to add insult to injury, many of those billionaires won't pay tax in the UK because they aren't British nationals.

    • @pipdragon8229
      @pipdragon8229 Рік тому +11

      True. These places will just be investment holdings.

    • @williebeamish5879
      @williebeamish5879 Рік тому +5

      Nailed it.

  • @jimbob-robob
    @jimbob-robob Рік тому +8

    London will become like Manila in the Philippines where people travel 2 to three hours twice a day just get to work, where there's virtually no affordable housing in the centre of Manila...that's no life...

  • @pipdragon8229
    @pipdragon8229 Рік тому +42

    This won't stop. The power of big money is just too much. Poorer people will have to move out and try to create their own small paradises in the countryside. I'm in the states and the same thing is happening here.

  • @borderlord
    @borderlord Рік тому +8

    Should never have been allowed to be sold off by the Government!

  • @JacobSheppard78
    @JacobSheppard78 Рік тому +46

    If only there’d been a candidate for PM in recent years who promised housing reform that this paper could have backed 🤔

    • @nogingerfool1
      @nogingerfool1 Рік тому +8

      exactly this paper demonised him as much as the mail or telegraph , this paper has a circulation lower than 80,000 a day its dying , not a day to soon

    • @verzeda
      @verzeda Рік тому

      I wonder if the reason they didnt is because if he won they wouldn't have as many scary stories to tell about the state of our nation

    • @stephencollins9062
      @stephencollins9062 Рік тому +2

      If only labour hadn't spent every single penny of the combined nation's pensions contributions going back almost one hundred years then the country would not be in this predicament
      If only labour hadn't thrown the doors open to the third world and increased the population by over 14 million people with zero connection to our countries then there would be no housing crisis amongst other third world horrors that are increasingly prevalent every day.
      The Labour party despise the indigenous population of the UK.

    • @Vespertilio-Homo
      @Vespertilio-Homo Рік тому +11

      @@stephencollins9062 Gotta give it to you, at least you're openly racist. I appreciate that.

    • @JacobSheppard78
      @JacobSheppard78 Рік тому +2

      @@OptimisticHominid you’re right, who needs a roof over your head when you’ve got a charismatic leader

  • @vintageb8
    @vintageb8 Рік тому +33

    can someone tell me how could a private foreign enterprise able to buy a historically significant UK government building ? why was it sold in the first place?

    • @TomNook.
      @TomNook. Рік тому

      Because the government has a foreign thinking element to it?

    • @spencerkay6131
      @spencerkay6131 Рік тому +2

      Money...we look at Russia and laugh at how kleptocracic it is unable to see how we gave the world the ideals of neo-liberalism.

    • @berlinheights8516
      @berlinheights8516 Рік тому +3

      It was sold because the building is no longer suitable for modern day use. And what does it matter that the enterprise is foreign? They converted the building into flats to sell on anyway.

    • @annette711
      @annette711 Рік тому

      This is because there fuelled by greed. Disgusting

    • @nonameh4867
      @nonameh4867 Рік тому

      ​@@berlinheights8516 and left is brits out

  • @Queenie-the-genie
    @Queenie-the-genie Рік тому +13

    sigh…The rich are so sadly and hideously piggish. And yet the British people seem to adore Kings and Queens.

  • @ellisford7596
    @ellisford7596 Рік тому +11

    The thing is that in expensive areas like Westminster aren't places for Social housing. Living in Westminster is a luxury, Social housing should be a necessity not a luxury.

  • @pipdragon8229
    @pipdragon8229 Рік тому +27

    In Dallas, TX (USA) around the downtown area the land is very valuable to big developers who want to build luxury housing. Much of the land is owned by very poor blacks who live in cheap housing but they have owned their homes for many decades. These people are often elderly and can't afford to move. Plus the land has often been in their families for generations. What the huge developers are doing is partnering with people who work for the city to steal the homes. Outright. They do this by having the mailing address that's on file changed by the city. Then they have all of These code violations sent out that are never received. Eventually the city takes the land because of all the violations and the developers get it for close to nothing. I've spoken with many people in Dallas and this has happened to their aunts and grandmother's. It's evil.

    • @asleepawake3645
      @asleepawake3645 Рік тому +3

      Surely there is a way for class action suits to profit from the developers that do this.

    • @perlaarrebatada9726
      @perlaarrebatada9726 Рік тому +2

      Oouuu ! Yes !!!! América great again !!! Or better " american dream ...or nightmare...😱😱😱

    • @asleepawake3645
      @asleepawake3645 Рік тому

      @@perlaarrebatada9726 , trumpism is a disgustingly worldwide scoruge

    • @inspiredbynatureinspiredby5586
      @inspiredbynatureinspiredby5586 Рік тому +1

      Don't allow this! I'm American and this should never be tolerated! These recent immigrants and corporations don't care about Americans as a whole; American Caucasian or Foundational Black American. Trump is correct when it comes to immigration, putting Americans first, foreign threats, and staying out of unnecessary conflicts.

  • @dcpayne5264
    @dcpayne5264 Рік тому +62

    Tommy - i hope it all works out for you. I hope successive governments make the changes needed to make it easier for you and others in your situation.

  • @TheLordHiggs
    @TheLordHiggs Рік тому +12

    Why would you have social housing in there?

    • @bob820
      @bob820 Рік тому +3

      @@goodluck-mx4qr why is it madness. He can’t afford it so he doesn’t live there. If madness is not affording everything you want then everybody is mad.

    • @DDD-xx4mg
      @DDD-xx4mg Рік тому

      @@goodluck-mx4qr and now he can move out to an area more suited to him

    • @asleepawake3645
      @asleepawake3645 Рік тому

      Because it is good practice. Why not? There are easy and efficient ways to do it.

  • @Faithwithscience
    @Faithwithscience Рік тому +8

    LOOL why would they have affordable housing in a luxury hotel. This guy trying his best to make a controversial documentary lol!…

    • @theGuardian
      @theGuardian  Рік тому +4

      Because planning rules exist. And, as explained in the video, if they don't want to have social housing in the building, they should make a contribution to the council's fund but were given a cut price deal. You can read more here if you that isn't clear enough: www.theguardian.com/news/2022/oct/02/luxury-flats-richest-people-social-housing-hinduja-old-war-office

  • @Ozymandi_as
    @Ozymandi_as Рік тому +19

    The Council was remiss for not extracting the full value of the planning permission granted for the new development. The building itself, located where it is, is not suitable for people on low incomes, because of its poor access to
    commercial and community facilities, such as affordable shops and services, health and education facilities, outdoor areas for children's play, etc. The developers want to maximise the return on their investment, which is fine so long as they share an appropriate amount of their profits with the council for investment in those parts of Westminster where affordable housing already exists, and is in need of modernisation, or there are is land viable for new development. Why they would forgo £30m when funding for new schemes is so scarce is a question that ought to be answered, so it would be interesting to know about what happened during the approval process, and if the decisions have been subject to audit.
    That said, Westminster has employed dubious planning practices since the days of Shirley Porter, the Tesco heiress who, as leader of the council in the 80s, was responsible for using the council's housing policy to gerrymander votes in the borough; a practice that was later deemed illegal by the district auditor. Lady Porter was levied with a surcharge, which, after a long wrangle through the courts, was settled at about £10m, back in the early 2000s. She was also stripped of her honorific title. Council members are under a duty to endeavour to obtain best value from dealing in the council's assets; but few of them will be as wealthy as Lady Porter.
    Council's in London are strapped for cash, and social housing is expensive. However, the crisis in affordable housing will adversely affect London if people on low - moderate incomes aren't able to live here. These are the people who provide London with its essential services, they work in its retail and hospitality industries, and they account for much of London's distinctive character and ethos. Without them, it risks becoming sterile and economically stagnant, which is something the UK can ill-afford.

  • @finnrowden3341
    @finnrowden3341 Рік тому +18

    Great awareness video, I do think it’s more than acceptable for the original £38 million to be donated rather than the 1/3 of the property being used for affordable housing. Thanks for sharing

  • @linmorell1813
    @linmorell1813 Рік тому +2

    It was a public building for years. It was renovated about 30 years ago. It is spectacular

  • @Rin-ef2tp
    @Rin-ef2tp Рік тому +27

    I don’t understand why he wouldn’t accept housing less than 10 miles away? Transport links are so good in London as well so I don’t understand why you would rather live in a place filled with shit than just move?

    • @WillyJunior
      @WillyJunior Рік тому +9

      Yeah seriously. A lot of people have to move to new places for various reasons which results in compromises having to be made. Being a tube journey away from your mates is not a reason to turn down a flat. Victim mentality is a disease.

    • @denydeni144
      @denydeni144 Рік тому

      agree

  • @neilsmith154
    @neilsmith154 Рік тому +4

    Building affordable housing in luxury apartments is a silly idea. Build proper standalone social housing.

    • @galegrazutis964
      @galegrazutis964 Рік тому

      And this is like ultra luxury. It's just not feisable in any way!

  • @cianog
    @cianog Рік тому +4

    How many guesses the reporter comes from a upper class background?

  • @jchur7128
    @jchur7128 Рік тому +31

    Who are the owners of the new housing units? Do these multi millionaires avoid paying tax? The London council is obviously being bought in some way.
    Are they oligarchs? Are they corrupt officials and individuals?
    Excellent reporting. Please provide updates until the situation has been rectified.

    • @souravranjan129
      @souravranjan129 Рік тому +7

      He mentioned the owners of that big building under construction is Hinduja Group. It's an Indian business conglomerate with very deep pockets (+$100 billion)
      They mostly likely filled few millions in the pockets of ... (you know whom).
      In consideration of there generous gifts.. the officials decided to wave off certain part (£29.6 million) of there compensation for affordable housing.
      I think Hinduja Brothers are one of the UK's richest. There business is based in many countries so they pay taxes in different countries and probably don't pay taxes on there earnings from outside UK.

    • @inspiredbynatureinspiredby5586
      @inspiredbynatureinspiredby5586 Рік тому +5

      They should be deported immediately!

    • @annette711
      @annette711 Рік тому

      @@inspiredbynatureinspiredby5586 probably pay rushi to turn a blind eye.

    • @funbegins2371
      @funbegins2371 6 місяців тому

      @@inspiredbynatureinspiredby5586 UK govt will sent ur whole lineage to RWANDA before they touch the Hindujas. know your place boy

  • @SajidKhan-jg8bk
    @SajidKhan-jg8bk Рік тому +7

    "No affordable housing," as expected!

  • @gemstonesparkle7915
    @gemstonesparkle7915 Рік тому +14

    It’s naïve to expect private luxury development to make affordable housing, this is the government’s responsibility.
    I’m not saying this because I don’t see the problem in this situation, but this is how capitalism works.
    I can’t picture this sumptuous building, right in a important location, costing the same as a cheap modernist boxy housing block…
    And If they did, the cheaper 30% would be in the spaces the wealthy don’t want, like in places with no or small windows, basement and attic.

    • @swampy1234
      @swampy1234 Рік тому

      What can't you picture about it? Economically or socially?
      Because, socially, we've seen many successfully-mixed class clusters, predominantly (and possibly, exclusively) in London. Take Notting Hill for example.

  • @AK47_414
    @AK47_414 Рік тому +17

    I mean is there such a thing as affordable housing in London? Lol. No one should be surprised

    • @thegoodthebadandtheugly579
      @thegoodthebadandtheugly579 Рік тому +3

      Yeah, I feel they are completely missing the real problem. It is not that that super expensive building is not affordable or social housing - it is that the affordable housing that is supposed to be affordable IS NOT AFFORDABLE!

    • @denydeni144
      @denydeni144 Рік тому

      Once upon I time, a decade or more ago, there was, and should be! I am not visiting London anymore, because those luxury trash killed spirit of London and it was iconic town...now thats gone

  • @BH-2
    @BH-2 8 місяців тому

    the stamp duty collected from the sale of these apartments alone can pay for many social housing. The responsibility to provide affordable housing should be on the government, not developers.

  • @deecarter1059
    @deecarter1059 Рік тому +21

    I wouldn't turn my nose up at a free home in Neasden.

    • @gio-oz8gf
      @gio-oz8gf Рік тому

      Nobody said anything about a free home. He was born in Westminster and his family lives there. They are gradually forcing the plebs out to make the area more aesthetically pleasing for the rich. I keep seeing the image of a guillotine in my mind's eye.

    • @handleisGG
      @handleisGG Рік тому

      it's not free tho is it

  • @philipvincent3342
    @philipvincent3342 Рік тому +32

    The 1 reason real estate will not crash is that less than 1% of all mortgages are in foreclosure. Less than 3% are delinquent. Most sellers have record home equity. Job loss resulting in a financial bind won't result in foreclosure but a sale.

    • @amyritchie4490
      @amyritchie4490 Рік тому +2

      Realtors will do and say anything to sell a home.

    • @legilooks
      @legilooks Рік тому +1

      I need someone to put me through digital real estate, heard it's very lucrative.

    • @elizabethangus6628
      @elizabethangus6628 Рік тому +1

      @Erica Adams I searched her name on the net and found her webpage.>

    • @jorjabertie3466
      @jorjabertie3466 Рік тому +1

      The housing market crash is not going to mean more people might be able to afford houses. It's going to mean further monopolization of house ownership under corporate investors.

    • @ROTHSTEIN01
      @ROTHSTEIN01 Рік тому

      Not really, middle class still owns most real estate, if their income collapses , they won't be able to pay mortgages, which will result in weak pound and can easily collapse the housing market/ real estate market. Your argument is invalid

  • @KingCharles3
    @KingCharles3 Рік тому +10

    you wouldn’t have social housing in Westminster, it is some of the most valuable land in the world and Whitehall is one of the most important streets in the country

    • @theGuardian
      @theGuardian  Рік тому +10

      You would and you do have social housing in Westminster. You would have more of it if the full £39.6m was paid.

    • @TomNook.
      @TomNook. Рік тому +3

      @A W the minorities are the rich ones...

  • @Zainab-ox2pq
    @Zainab-ox2pq Рік тому +2

    This is why I don't watch the news, too problem focused rather than solution focused

  • @joandewinnaar4972
    @joandewinnaar4972 Рік тому +5

    Thanks that was a great video

  • @MrObliviousegg
    @MrObliviousegg Рік тому +11

    Why should property developers be forced to include affordable housing? I've seen this same thing in Clifton, Bristol, where exquisite properties in affluent neighbourhoods are marred by the eyesore of the substandard housing opposite them.

    • @galegrazutis964
      @galegrazutis964 Рік тому +2

      And sometimes substandard neighbours!!!

    • @scottishjedi1522
      @scottishjedi1522 5 місяців тому +1

      Because they’re building properties for the 1% whilst leaving out the 99% who actually need the housing. So many large spaces are being used to build ‘luxury accommodation’ which often sits empty as it’s bought as an investment by a millionaire/billionaire who will probably never set foot in the place.
      Meanwhile the people who grew up in those cities can’t actually get housing because the prices are ridiculous.
      So the councils are trying to do the best they can by forcing property developers to actually include housing for the people from that area that need it as well as the billionaires who’ll probably never stay more than a week in those huge buildings that could house hundreds if not thousands of families desperate for somewhere to live.
      Maybe take a moment to think of the bigger picture.

  • @Jonnyicey
    @Jonnyicey Рік тому +3

    I'm all for more social housing but this is ridiculous, of course there will be no social housing if they are going for 40 million an apartment.

    • @galegrazutis964
      @galegrazutis964 Рік тому +1

      That for a four bedroom . But l completely agree the very notion is RIDICULOUS!

  • @mrpeel3239
    @mrpeel3239 Рік тому +1

    Great topic. Hope you will continue to explore. Ps is there such a thing as Council housing in Mayfair?!

  • @121evans
    @121evans Рік тому +2

    Thank you for your analysis

  • @lauramurray1216
    @lauramurray1216 Рік тому +3

    I would love to talk to the Guardian regarding social housing

  • @andreinarangel6227
    @andreinarangel6227 Рік тому +3

    What are those of "social housing" requirements doing on behalf of the people who live in "luxury development"?

    • @martinb101
      @martinb101 Рік тому

      literally everything you utter air-head, from cleaning to delivering to basic DIY; they don't do anything for themselves

  • @shujaahmed6566
    @shujaahmed6566 Рік тому +11

    Alot of people have already moved to Birmingham, from London in the last few years

    • @desbest4
      @desbest4 8 місяців тому

      Don't hold your breath. I'm from Birmingham and gentrification is happening thoraces well, with luxury homes being built for upper class foreigners.

  • @STeALtHsVidz
    @STeALtHsVidz Рік тому +13

    No social housing??? WTF! Shocker.... :O

    • @HUYI1
      @HUYI1 Рік тому

      This is disgusting, end off!

    • @DDD-xx4mg
      @DDD-xx4mg Рік тому +1

      Why you think these people should be entitled to live in £1.2billion luxury development 😂. They should be grateful with whatever there offered. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

  • @ATHLDN
    @ATHLDN Рік тому

    I moved out of London,came to Manchester..now Manchester is becoming unaffordable..wages here are not great

  • @englishterry8084
    @englishterry8084 Рік тому +14

    Lmao , even if there was social housing in that development I doubt it would go to anyone English , why should private developments include social housing , why haven’t the councils been taken to task for not building houses instead of selling off every green field they can …

  • @bob820
    @bob820 Рік тому +10

    Why would it have social housing? Very random topic. Some things in life need to be paid for. Can’t expect everyone to live the same lives otherwise what is the point of working and studying

    • @theGuardian
      @theGuardian  Рік тому +3

      Because of the clear planning rules that exist. www.theguardian.com/news/2022/oct/02/luxury-flats-richest-people-social-housing-hinduja-old-war-office

    • @Robert-cu9bm
      @Robert-cu9bm Рік тому +3

      @@theGuardian
      But they paid the fine as you said they would have to, so clearly following the rules.

    • @denydeni144
      @denydeni144 Рік тому

      Because there are people in need, such as those with damaged health, not guilty because they cannot work or study if that makes sense.

    • @bob820
      @bob820 Рік тому

      ​@@theGuardian But I don't understand why everything needs to be given/partly given to people that can't afford it. I am not saying we should make poorer people homeless, of course not, but why do they need to live in the most expensive buildings that people worked their lives off to afford?

    • @bob820
      @bob820 Рік тому

      @@denydeni144 But why can't they reside elsewhere. I am not saying we should make poorer people homeless, of course not, but why do they need to live in the most expensive buildings that people worked their lives off to afford?

  • @emm_arr
    @emm_arr Рік тому +8

    Great place for hostile states to test out new devices for remote surveillance.

  • @patavinity1262
    @patavinity1262 Рік тому +14

    I can sense the Guardian thinks I should be furiously angry about this, but I'm not. What difference does it make to the overall housing situation in London? None at all. What *would* make a difference is building new affordable housing on unused land, or expanding existing affordable housing developments. Former cabinet offices with vast classical façades are not optimal sites for council estates.

    • @theGuardian
      @theGuardian  Рік тому +8

      Did you watch the whole video? Just asking because there’s a whole section explaining that the planning rules allow you to make a contribution to building social housing elsewhere in the borough, which should have been £39.6 million. That would have been enough to buy or build housing for a significant number of people on the waiting list.

    • @denydeni144
      @denydeni144 Рік тому

      @@theGuardian Yet many promote some sort of "earned privilege". So much about equality.

  • @rjflores438
    @rjflores438 Рік тому +5

    That is the disparity in wealth in the Borough of Westminster, you can go from Mayfair to the council estates of Lisson Grove in just over a couple of miles and it is a different world!

  • @trickydicky90
    @trickydicky90 8 місяців тому

    In a market driven economy how does social housing funded by the government using taxes fit into that model? Surely no subsidy would mean less housing in inflation which would then benefit all. Discuss?

  • @cianog
    @cianog Рік тому +2

    Do people really expect 'affordable housing' in that development?

    • @galegrazutis964
      @galegrazutis964 Рік тому

      Yes using the pools and the gymnasium check by jowl

  • @beemarron3642
    @beemarron3642 3 місяці тому

    No one should have this sort of money. This sort of greed just shouldn't be allowed... we should be furious.

  • @SouthCountyDreaming
    @SouthCountyDreaming Рік тому +1

    There shouldn’t be affordable housing there. But the Burrough should have fought to get the $30 mil.

  • @PhantomKaratOfficial
    @PhantomKaratOfficial Рік тому +1

    We need a housing regulator in the UK

  • @kennethvenezia4400
    @kennethvenezia4400 Рік тому +2

    If it's a public building, how did private enterprise get hold of the people's property?

    • @scottishjedi1522
      @scottishjedi1522 5 місяців тому

      Government sold it off for cash. Same way they sold our power, water, gas, railways, telecommunications and anything else that was publicly owned.

  • @shanghaidiscovery2664
    @shanghaidiscovery2664 Рік тому +2

    So here is the question which we didn't get an answer to? how many affordable flats are the council building with the 10 million? 50? and if they had gotten 39.6 million, they would have only built 98? 400k+ a flat is not affordable housing.

    • @scottishjedi1522
      @scottishjedi1522 5 місяців тому

      The building had space for 98 affordable flats under the law. The council worked out the value of those lost flats as a percentage of the value of that building was £39.6 million. That doesn’t mean that any new buildings the council would have been restricted to 98 flats. They probably could’ve built more in a less expensive building block.

  • @GSThai
    @GSThai Рік тому +1

    Why would there be any social housing in this block..seems pretty ridiculous

  • @nicolenorman4686
    @nicolenorman4686 Рік тому

    They would of had to pay section 106 and CIL out of this money the council can build affordable housing but unfortunately it’s quite difficult for councils to build

  • @mandeep3.14
    @mandeep3.14 Рік тому +4

    I don’t get how they were able to get away with paying a much lower percentage…isn’t it either or? 🤔🤷🏻‍♀️ Can all new builds do that cos if so…that’s messed up.
    I like the idea of affordable housing but I don’t see how that works, does it only go to people within a certain wage bracket? How can you have affordable housing in such an expensive location?

    • @punkomattic89
      @punkomattic89 Рік тому

      Hi Manddep, yes I think only those who are on low income are allow to live in those select dwellings. It has been a rule in London that new developments must include a portion/percentage of social housing to ensure that low income people can afford a place to live in London and areas don't become completely gentrified. The developer will sell/rent these at a much lower rate, it will be factored into the cost of making a new development. I think it is a really good idea. This video highlights that the rich can skirt the rules that should be in place for all.

    • @inspiredbynatureinspiredby5586
      @inspiredbynatureinspiredby5586 Рік тому

      These investors are even Native to England and this should never be tolerated! It's either the Hinduja Brothers pay the full fee, include the 98 accommodations for low income, or they are forced to leave England. Period! These Hinduja brothers originate from a country that doesn't even believe in human Rights and currently have an extremely racist Caste System. This should never be tolerated and PM Sunak is like a Fox guarding the Hen House. He doesn't have the English best interest at heart.

  • @deedeedelirium6427
    @deedeedelirium6427 Рік тому

    Nice work

  • @Thebearmre7
    @Thebearmre7 Рік тому +1

    Just let you know you can Pay off the council when building a new building and not have affordable housing and developers do it all the time

  • @modulationnation4200
    @modulationnation4200 Рік тому +3

    Depise the tories with a passion but Labour councils need to learn to take more responsibility for the failures in housing in London. I voted green at the last local election because I’m tired of the two parties failing the country!

  • @F_e_l
    @F_e_l 7 місяців тому

    Perfect example of rich gets richer. Rules are merely suggestions for the rich.

  • @xphilli
    @xphilli Рік тому +1

    I agree they should have paid the £39m. I assume the government thinks attracting millionaires from around the world who are spending their days buying jewellery and cars will compensate for the lower figure over time, but also, that is not a building that should have social housing. Especially if you have mental health issues, living in a place like that with crowds, sirens, planes, helicopters all hours of the day and night (I know I lived in Waterloo for 3 years) is not ideal.

  • @metalvideos1961
    @metalvideos1961 Рік тому +8

    They can reverse it but they wont because they are bought out. its that simple.

    • @eoz6840
      @eoz6840 Рік тому

      Hinduja group can be punished in other ways

  • @DDD-xx4mg
    @DDD-xx4mg Рік тому +13

    You can’t have social housing ruining such a beautiful building, they can put some social housing on the outskirts of London. There is no need for it be in prime locations

    • @asleepawake3645
      @asleepawake3645 Рік тому

      They don't need to ruin the building. Just design space inside for affordable housing. It's not that hard. Forcing people to segregate the rich and poor is a social disaster waiting to happen.

    • @DDD-xx4mg
      @DDD-xx4mg Рік тому +6

      @@asleepawake3645 one of the main reason someone would pay a significant premium to live somewhere like this is to be surrounded with like mined people and not social housing lot. Adding social housing into the same building would significantly devalue it and make the project unsustainable for the devs to achieve desired profit margins. Why should people on benefits that pay for nothing be allowed to share a building worth over 1bn when 99% of the working population that don’t claim benefits would never earn enough to live in this building.

    • @Robert-cu9bm
      @Robert-cu9bm Рік тому +1

      @@asleepawake3645
      😂... That's why we all get to fly first class dining on caviar.
      When they design social housing that way, the guardian complains about "poor doors".

    • @asleepawake3645
      @asleepawake3645 Рік тому

      @@Robert-cu9bm , yes, that's exactly what segregation is. Are you suggesting humans can't get over their animal instincts to segregate from their the less fortunate?

    • @denydeni144
      @denydeni144 Рік тому

      @@asleepawake3645 And so much about equality and diversity.

  • @djsmithe
    @djsmithe Рік тому +11

    With the slow decline of the UK, that 40 million dollar flat will be worth 20 million one day.

  • @rayray117
    @rayray117 Рік тому +1

    It’s true, next 100 years it’s just a rich playground.

  • @justsomeguy1141
    @justsomeguy1141 Рік тому

    Why would you build social housing next to mega mansions?

  • @davidl7103
    @davidl7103 Рік тому +2

    Why do they have to live in center London ? Why can’t they communicate like the rest of us ?

    • @DDD-xx4mg
      @DDD-xx4mg Рік тому

      Exactly these freeloaders are completely spoilt. They should be grateful we’re ever there housed. Most hard working people will not be able to afford to live in these prime locations so why should these council lot. The majority of these people are unemployed as stay at home all day so it doesn’t matter we’re there housed it’s not like they commute anywhere

    • @aegisltd2018
      @aegisltd2018 Рік тому

      You mean commute dear boy

  • @highpath4776
    @highpath4776 Рік тому +2

    This is a reversion to the Palace of Whitehall. I would not complain too much of the choice for the WO as long as profits create decent local housing ( the crown estate and the church commissioners own a lot of the land and buildings ).

  • @crimson177
    @crimson177 Рік тому +3

    I know its not affordable, but its better than nothing, it still increases the overall supply of housing.

  • @oleksandrmarchuk
    @oleksandrmarchuk Рік тому +3

    True reason I move out of London it’s simple to expensive

  • @Lalthlengliana.Khawlhring
    @Lalthlengliana.Khawlhring Рік тому

    Intro music title name ??

  • @jakehowie442
    @jakehowie442 Рік тому

    What a disgrace, a British building and institution that should be a public building. Not flats or even worse social housing

  • @silverXnoise
    @silverXnoise Рік тому

    Nice new BMW parked at that slum.

  • @chyfour
    @chyfour Рік тому

    Many people from Hong Kong are buying UK houses 😢

  • @dking257
    @dking257 2 місяці тому

    Ever hear they saying “you get what you pay for”?

  • @handleisGG
    @handleisGG Рік тому

    meanwhile 18.5M people are homeless and in uninhabitable unfit flats smh

  • @Banjo_Tails
    @Banjo_Tails Рік тому

    I get the point of the video, but any sensible person will understand there is no way affordable housing is going to be put into a building like that in it's grandeur and design in the middle of London. Its a bit of a stretch of comparison for housing.

  • @mobrown7594
    @mobrown7594 Рік тому +2

    move to another city or borough then.

  • @17addidas
    @17addidas Рік тому +1

    To be fair ... its a market economy ....But moral and social standards require if not voluntarily otherwise legally to share and care for our community . A " generous "percentage should be set aside to build affordable or social housing here or elswhere . Please put into Practice the Hinduja family " Service with devotion " Ideology , Spirituality and Vegetarianism ....as documented in diverse interviews .

  • @italianstallion9170
    @italianstallion9170 Рік тому

    Why would any sane property developer spend 1.2bn on a housing complex and put in social housing units..? The private apartments would never sell in a million years if they did. Also, how do social housing tenants deserved to live in central London anyway, 98% of the population cannot afford to.

  • @drinkwater9891
    @drinkwater9891 9 місяців тому

    ferrari and laborghini are also disgusting for not providing their cars for £10, its atrocious

  • @simontemplar404
    @simontemplar404 Рік тому

    Good. What about affordable housing that is not in a listed building? Concord did not have cheap seats but 747's did. This video is deranged.

  • @Spoot1RHGL
    @Spoot1RHGL Рік тому +4

    Neasden where this champ is supposed to move into a new studio is 50mins away by public transport to his old home in Westminster

    • @stephencollins9062
      @stephencollins9062 Рік тому +1

      I used to get the bus from work in the West end up to Neasden right up next to the water storage area

    • @jainee4507
      @jainee4507 Рік тому

      More like 20 mins

    • @matvei8829
      @matvei8829 Рік тому +2

      so? he's only supposed to have a free flat in westminster because he claims his friends live there? my friends live in barcelona, is the UK government supposed to pay for my subsidised flat there?

  • @CrimsionMoon
    @CrimsionMoon Рік тому

    Is this a joke? We are having a cost of living crisis and this is happening? This government is a joke...

  • @rupeshg5006
    @rupeshg5006 Рік тому

    World is crazy..

  • @HUYI1
    @HUYI1 Рік тому +1

    Fucking vile! Really? I have homeless friends who sleep on the dam floor and can't even get a proper hot meal to help themselves, this is sickining 😡😡

    • @Robert-cu9bm
      @Robert-cu9bm Рік тому +1

      And your point being?.
      Why don't they get a job and stop complaining and better their life.

  • @lowesonia8551
    @lowesonia8551 Рік тому +1

    Scandelous. Disgusting. What has become of G.B. A King who has no Honour. Billionairs pricing out decent normal working Londoners. This Property must have been sold by our Government. Where are the rebellous intellectuals ?

  • @public.public
    @public.public Рік тому

    Austerity?
    billionaires are a luxury WE can no longer afford.

  • @learning4mind4soul74
    @learning4mind4soul74 Рік тому +1

    Keep the rich and poor in separate areas

  • @martijnkeisers5900
    @martijnkeisers5900 3 місяці тому

    Still such a class society 😢

  • @Christine-Tina
    @Christine-Tina 9 місяців тому

    It's like Toronto, but worse.

  • @cyrusaalborg
    @cyrusaalborg Рік тому

    what a out of touch reporter , I do not live in UK but the law is same here , new development has to have affordable housing this is NOT new but they are modernising an old building

  • @kennixox262
    @kennixox262 Рік тому

    Is the Royal Horse Guards Hotel still next door and do the Royal Horse Guards still accept notes and donations slipped into their boots for dates?

  • @roy9386
    @roy9386 Рік тому +5

    There is this place called “the rest of the UK” where housing is more affordable. Everyone knows London is insanely expensive, especially when it comes to renting and buying.

    • @je6874
      @je6874 Рік тому +2

      “More affordable” is relative… it’s a housing crisis for a reason, and it’s not just based on London

  • @ivansdubrovin9629
    @ivansdubrovin9629 Рік тому

    Maybe that’s why it’s called LUXURY. People wants to live in Buckingham palace and pay £100. What a life. 🙄🙄🙄

  • @jimmymchugh8305
    @jimmymchugh8305 Рік тому

    It's a joke - I've been allocated an over 55 in st John's wood opposite Lords. To be honest it's been forced on me - I had been homeless. I run 3 times a week and walk two hours everyday. It should have been given to someone wanting over 55 - it's luxurious and new. I'm not ready.for that life style ..... Westminster never talk only tell