#GoldsmithsStreet#Norwich won the Stirling prize for architecture in 2019…the only time social housing has won this prestigious prize. But now thanks to #Tory#RightToBuy they are being sold off…this communal asset will be in private hands and how will it be replaced?
‘A Freedom of Information Act request submitted to #Norwich City Council by Dezeen found that seven of the homes in the award-winning social-housing development are already subject to Right to Buy applications, having only been completed in 2019.
Right to Buy is a government policy that allows council-housing tenants in England to purchase their homes at a significant discount.’
@JugglingWithEggs We really need a law that when any social accommodation is sold the proceeds have to go into a fund to actively build more social accommodation. No exceptions.
Also, if not setting rents so low that they only just cover maintenance, any rent on social accommodation should go into the same 'build more' fund.
I'm aware I'm probably preaching to the choir here ;) .
Saw the #northernlights from my doorstep in light polluted central #Norwich. Appeared as a beam of slowly moving white light. Didn’t have the means to get a decent photo…but it was definitely there!
RT by @CarolineLucas: 🌱 Thank you to everyone who voted Green yesterday! Six Green Party councillors have been elected to the city council, meaning the council is under no overall control.
I don’t blame #Norwich City Council for tenants exercising their ‘Right to Buy’ their council home.
Goldsmith Street was groundbreaking in building social housing to a Passivehaus standard. It stands out as being exceptional 5 yrs later.
It’s the #Tories that allow prized social assets to be transferred into private hands, while making it very hard for the proceeds to be used to build new social housing.
Where is the incentive for other councils and housing associations to build to such high standards, if they know that just three years later the properties can be bought and that much needed home will be lost to the private sector?
All homes should be built to a standard that means they will be able to withstand the heat and cold pressures that will be thrown at it by 2050. They should be affordable to run and they should add as little carbon to the atmosphere as possible.
Just a reminder. Scotland and Wales removed this STUPID policy years ago. An easy example of sanity being brought to bear with devolved assemblies. Roll on independence.
I have a recollection of the guy who did it talking through the laws regarding stage hypnotism. The main thing I recall was it was important to make sure folks had completely come out of the trance before allowing them off the stage.
It was an ok night out, but I didn’t like people being unaware they were the butt of the jokes.
If you think hypnosis is all a bit of lighthearted fun and this blanket banning by some councils belongs in a museum, it’s perhaps also worth remembering hypnotism has been used by the police.
The CPS takes a very dim view of it and warns of confabulation, whereby the witness afterwards will have no way of knowing whether it’s a real, planted or imagined memory.
I actually forgot to post here about last week's #Norwich#Amiga Group meet which was really busy and a lot of fun - I'll post some more pics at a later date.
For now though here's a highlight - one of our members created their own box for their A1200! How cool is this? And far sturdier than any cardbox box it would have originally shipped in.
I love living in #Norwich (most of the time). I love the mix of people, green spaces, political openness to new ideas (compared to rest of county), independent shops, historical buildings and culture.
But do I want it to be thought of as a place that is exciting by the Times?
But at least living in #Norwich I have an MP, (Clive Lewis) willing to call out the dangers of getting into bed with the AfD:
“You don’t give platforms to people who would take your platform away and when we talk about AFD, we are talking about a party whose members have been actively planning to deport millions of Germans who they deem to be not sufficiently German”
Next #Norwich#Amiga Group meet is on Tuesday 23rd January at Albion Games Cafe, 21 St Benedict's Street, Norwich, NR2 4PF from 17:00 - 21:30. It's free entry and all are welcome!
We'll have plenty of Amigas out to use and play with plus there will be an OctaMED demonstration and tutorial too!
The man who sleeps in the alcove by Marks & Spencer told me, an hour ago, that the authorities had confiscated his sleeping bag.
Stop this #Norwich Council , #NorfolkCountyCouncil
Stealing a man's means of protection & shelter in sub-zero temperatures is tantamount to manslaughter.
Police Commissioner Giles Orpen Smellie - you know what it is to be in the open without shelter in wintry conditions from your service.
It makes me so sad and angry to read about real impact of #poverty that is stunting the growth and health of children in my city of #Norwich.
Next time you hear a statistic on poverty uttered from the mouth of our hedge fund manager PM you won’t need the ONS to tell you it’s a lie, just look at the Victorian levels of decay that are creeping in all around us.
I love the golden hour, when #Norwich’s architectural wonders are naturally lit up…today we could see from outside the City Hall, the cathedral, castle and St Peter Mancroft all glowing at once when the sun was low in the sky…but I couldn’t quite get them all in one shot!
Alt text: St Peter Mancroft in the foreground with Norwich Castle in the background.
It’s been a very sad and confusing week in #Norwich.
Since learning of the disappearance of Gaynor Lord on her way home from work at Jarrolds last Friday, the city has been hoping for positive news or some kind of resolution, but that sadly hasn’t happened.
We seem to have entered the realm of rolling media coverage today.
I really hope the family are being looked after right now.
What we all feared in #Norwich came to pass today. A body was found by divers in the River Wensum…it is assumed it is that of Gaynor Lord, a 55 year old mother of three who went missing last Friday.
My thoughts are with her family and friends at what must be the most difficult of times.
Well interesting news just in…the Tory candidate for #Norwich North, Nick Rose has had to stand down after just 3 weeks.
He didn’t believe in Anthropogenic (human influenced) climate change or Net Zero. He was also very transphobic and backed Suella Braverman’s rhetoric to the hilt on refugees.
Maybe the #Tory party is waking up to the fact that Norwich is the progressive opposite of #Norfolk.
Kids were delighted to see #TheGarage#Norwich on #Strictly results show. They both do classes there and it’s such a warm, joyful and encouraging place.
Everyone is welcome.
They do so much good work across all areas of drama, dance and music. Great to see it recognised!
Just found out who the #Tory candidate standing in #Norwich North at next election will be: Nick Rose, who hails from…er, Bournemouth.
He doesn’t believe in human-made climate change or Net Zero and he says he knows what a woman is. He’s proudly ‘anti-woke’.
And he’s saying these things to the local press assuming we’ll lap it up…he thinks his Norfolk Broads boating holidays are preparation for Norwich life. As if! Bring it on!
