The fact that whenever someone speaks legitimately in our Parliament, that their words are recorded and often captured in sound or on video for broadcast purposes is for ‘good’ reason. These men and women are the democratic ‘leaders’ of our nation and as such will often speak in a manner and on subjects that must be treated with great respect. However sadly this is not always something that is matched by the quality of what is said, even by the leader of our nation. These words were captured on a website called ‘They Work for You’ and it is deeply concerning that Theresa May has failed to acknowledge the absolute failing of Wandsworth Council in their decisions over Battersea Power Station. As a teenager I recall buying a vinyl album by Pink Floyd called Animals with a picture of a pink pig flying by the power station in the days when it was still in use. The coal fired station half of which was built in the 1930’s and half in the 1950’s was decommissioned in 1983.

The website set up by the developer states “The iconic Grade II* listed building and surrounding area is being brought back to life as one of the most exciting and innovative mixed use neighbourhoods in the world – a place for locals, tourists and residents to enjoy a unique blend of restaurants, shops, parks and cultural spaces.”

It is clear from the words of Marsha de Cordova that the value to the many locals on housing waiting lists will be very low indeed, and despite the words from Theresa, we have no way of knowing if the 85% of the housing units on the site will ever be used as homes, based on the knowledge that the thousands of housing units in central London which lie empty from year to year, acting simply as part of a capital based investment portfolio. As for the jobs, one wonders how many of these have gone to local residents?

Sadly on a much smaller and less substantial scale we have similar challenges here in Brighton & Hove with a number of developments such as the station site, and Circus Street being built close to accommodation that is of much lower quality and which acts as homes to people on low incomes. Such actions betray the language from the  phrase  ‘mixed use neighbourhoods’ when there is no attempt to integrate the various elements of these communities. It is not difficult to imagine how this could lead to social breakdown in months, let alone years. Sadly politicians at both a national and local level and in different parties seem oblivious to such matters.