SO Cllr Carol Broad has come up with a brilliant answer to the estate's anti-social problems: bulldoze and level all the houses on Ryelands. When that happens it certainly will resolve the problem!

'Radical problems need radical solutions!' said Cllr Tricia Heath. But really it is media hype that has given the area its notoriety, not the residents. Crime and vandalism is happening in every area - yes it is a scourge society has to cope with - but we don't envisage levelling our houses to resolve it. The previous council accepted the current Tenants' Consultative Team onto the council housing sub-committee (without voting powers) to represent tenant views. Surely protocol deems that the TCT should have been informed of the intended press release? After all this radical solution will need our input at some stage.

I would remind councillors Heath and Broad, that the ink is only just dry from the last referendum held by tenants, the issue being whom we wanted as our future landlord. The result was the city council and that position has not changed. Why do they not get on with the job? They have inherited £4 million - money earmarked for Ryelands through previous legislation anyway.

If the MBIs do jack-boot the final solution through committee, where will the capital raised from the sell off go? Where would current tenants be rehoused? Estate Partnership Agreements have been negotiated and signed in good faith, by council and tenant representatives. Are these hard fought agreements worthless now? Tricia Heath's press statement implies that tenants on the Ryelands Estate are to be sacrificed for the sake of a solution to the long running social and cultural problems. But what about the home owners living there? The MBIs cannot bulldoze our homes on a whim, even if it would produce that final solution. The LNTF wish to make it clear that consultation not confrontation always achieves better results, we are always open to this. Are the MBIs?

Leo Rowett

Lancaster North Tenants Forum

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.