Councillor Gassanly has written to residents at Cundy Flats, setting out what local Conservative councillors are doing to secure the best deal for residents and the wider community:

Following recent redevelopment proposals, my colleagues at Westminster Council and myself have been urging Grosvenor to improve their offer to residents of Cundy Street Flats. The Council encourages all developers engaged in private regeneration projects to match Westminster’s regeneration offer to residents, including right of return to new flats.

One of my key priorities has been to safeguard the interests of residents on tenancy agreements with break-clauses in 2021. It is encouraging that Grosvenor is responding to our calls and have now offered an additional payment of £6500 per affected household. This is in line with Westminster Council’s guideline home-loss payment and represents a move in the right direction.

As your ward councillor I will continue pushing Grosvenor to strengthen this offer and provide further assurances to those tenants facing difficulty in securing affordable accommodation in the local area. Whilst I would suggest to everyone affected at Cundy Flats to seek independent legal advice, I am keen to offer personal representation on housing to any resident who might benefit from it. I am already speaking directly with residents, including protected tenants, to help negotiate their individual cases with Grosvenor. Please do get in touch for further information and advice.

I am also consulting with residents’ groups, amenity societies and Grosvenor to ensure that any proposals put forward to planning meet the Council’s policy requirements on height, bulk, scale, design and very importantly, affordable housing on site!

I worked with the Council’s Housing Services to ensure that Westminster Council tenants at Walden House are given highest priority for rehousing. Every effort will be made to ensure that they can stay as close to the area as possible. The Council had negotiated an extension to our lease with Grosvenor on Walden House – from 2021 to 2023, which gives us additional time to rehouse our tenants. This is an opportunity to resolve a number of overcrowding cases at Walden House.

It is shameful that the Labour Party has chosen to exploit the situation around Cundy Flats to advance its own partisan agenda. Corbynistas from across London had flocked to Belgravia in recent weeks, stirring up fears, spreading false allegations and rumours. As your Conservative councillor I will work on building consensus and getting the best possible deal for all residents and the wider community.

Any Cundy Flats resident or Walden House tenant requiring housing advice and/or representation can contact me directly to set up a meeting.