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Camden Council

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Camden London Borough Council , also known as Camden Council , is the local authority for the London Borough of Camden in Greater London , England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London . The council has been under Labour majority control since 2010. The council meets at Camden Town Hall and has its main offices at 5 Pancras Square.

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42-424: Camden Council may refer to: Camden London Borough Council Camden Council (New South Wales) Camden Council, Boy Scouts of America Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Camden Council . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to

84-511: A parlour . Some had two, four, or even five bedrooms, as well as generously sized back gardens intended for vegetable growing. At most, they were built at 3,000/km . They were generally built to the recommendations of the Tudor Walters Report . Examples are found in Downham , Watling Estate , and Becontree . The Addison Act 1919, and the severe housing shortage in the early 1920s created

126-553: A London borough council. It sets council tax and as a billing authority also collects precepts for Greater London Authority functions and business rates. It sets planning policies which complement Greater London Authority and national policies, and decides on almost all planning applications accordingly. It is a local education authority and is also responsible for council housing , social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health. The council licenses street trading throughout

168-604: A budget of £150m. Of 1.2 million new houses built from 1945 to 1951 when the programme officially ended, 156,623 prefab houses were constructed. Mainly during the immediate post-war years, and well into the 1950s, council house provision was shaped by the New Towns Act 1946 ( 9 & 10 Geo. 6 . c. 68) and the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 of the 1945–51 Labour government. At the same time this government introduced housing legislation that removed explicit references to housing for

210-545: A coal-fire, with a back boiler to create both central heating and a constant supply of hot water. Thus it had a bathroom included a flushing toilet and man-sized bath with hot running water. In the kitchen were a built-in oven, refrigerator and baxi water heater. All prefabs under the housing act came pre-decorated in magnolia , with gloss-green on all additional wood, including the door trimmings and skirting boards. The Parker Morris Committee drew up an influential 1961 report on housing space standards in public housing in

252-537: A living room. The standards are based on the Tudor Walters Report of 1919 , and the Design Manual written according to the 1913 building standards. In 1923 the Chamberlain Act withdrew subsidies for council houses except for private builders and houses for sale. Councils could undertake to build houses and offer these for sale but also to sell off some of their existing properties. This was essentially reversed by

294-698: A quarter of the borough's size and population. Council house A council house , corporation house or council flat is a form of British public housing built by local authorities . A council estate is a building complex containing a number of council houses and other amenities like schools and shops. Construction took place mainly from 1919 to 1980s, as a result of the Housing Act 1919 . Though more council houses have been built since then, fewer have been built in recent years. Local design variations exist, however all followed local authority building standards. The Housing Acts of 1985 and 1988 facilitated

336-504: A row of rat infested cottages. Woolwich Borough Council was responsible for the Well Hall Estate designed for workers at the munition factories at Woolwich Arsenal . The estate and the house were built to the garden suburb philosophy: houses were all different. The estate received the royal seal of approval when, on Friday 24 March 1916, Queen Mary made an unannounced visit. A programme of council house building started after

378-602: Is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Camden", but it styles itself Camden Council. From 1965 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by the Greater London Council . The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention , and refuse disposal ; with

420-404: Is instead provided by the leader of the council . The leaders since 1965 have been: *Councillor Pat Callaghan took on the role of Acting Leader during Gould's maternity leave from September 2023 until early 2024 and then again during July 2024 following Gould's resignation upon being elected as an MP. Following the 2022 election and subsequent by-elections up to May 2024, the composition of

462-600: The Greater London Authority has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within the English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions. The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation, and has the powers and functions of

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504-509: The London Government Act 1963 , with the first election held in 1964 . For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's three outgoing authorities, being the councils of the three metropolitan boroughs of Hampstead , Holborn and St Pancras . The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old boroughs and their councils were abolished. The council's full legal name

546-772: The Parker Morris standards were the requirements saying that: Particularly in larger cities, councils built high-rise blocks from the 1960s to the 1980s to accommodate a high density of dwellings at relatively low cost. Notable schemes include Park Hill in Sheffield, Hulme Crescents in Manchester, Cottingley in Leeds, Churchill Gardens in London, and many examples in Glasgow . The Radburn housing layout that aimed to separate cars from housing

588-608: The working class and introduced the concept of "general needs" construction (i.e., that council housing should aim to fill the needs for a wide range of society). In particular, Aneurin Bevan , the Minister for Health and Housing , promoted a vision of new estates where "the working man, the doctor and the clergyman will live in close proximity to each other". From the late 1970s, the wider takeover of free market economics propagated by Margaret Thatcher's conservative government sought to reduce

630-531: The Addison Act, a house would be 1,000 square feet (93 m ) but after 1924 it would be 620 square feet (58 m ). This was a major period of council house construction. With the Housing Act of 1930 , otherwise known as the Greenwood Act, the government signalled a change of priority, slum clearance. Pre-regulation terraced housing was to be cleared and the residents rehoused in new council houses. There

672-522: The First World War following on from the David Lloyd George 's government's Housing Act of 1919 . The 'Addison Act' brought in subsidies for council house building and aimed to provide 500,000 "homes fit for heroes" within a three-year period although less than half of this target was met. The housing built comprised three-bedroom dwellings with parlour and scullery: larger properties also include

714-463: The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, which applies to tenancies entered into after 1961. In summary, section 11 provides that a landlord shall: If a landlord refuses to repair a rented property, the tenant can take action to require them to carry out necessary works and claim compensation. The Addison Act 1919 houses were usually three-bedroom houses with a living room and scullery , sometimes also with

756-455: The Ministry of Works had to have a minimum floor space size of 635 square feet (59.0 m ), and the sections should be less than 7' 6" (2.3 m) wide. These "service units" had to include a combined back-to-back prefabricated kitchen that backed onto a prebuilt bathroom, so water pipes, waste pipes and electrical distribution were all in the same place, and hence easy to install. The house retained

798-623: The United Kingdom titled Homes for Today and Tomorrow . The report concluded that the quality of social housing needed to be improved to match the rise in living standards. Out of the report came the Parker Morris Standards . In 1963 these were set out in the Ministry of Housing's "Design Bulletin 6 – Space in the Home". They became mandatory for all council houses from 1967 until 1980. Among

840-651: The United Kingdom is defined by a series of Housing Acts, and public housing house design is defined by government-directed guidelines and central governments' relationship with local authorities. From the first interventions in the Public Health Act 1875 ( 38 & 39 Vict. c. 55) to the Housing of the Working Classes Act 1900 , council houses could be general housing for the working class , general housing, part of slum clearance programmes or just homes provided for

882-493: The borough, including the following markets: The council has been under Labour majority control since 2010. The first election to the council was held in 1964, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1965. Political control of the council since 1965 has been as follows: The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Camden. Political leadership

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924-545: The boroughs (including Camden) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection . The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees. Camden became a local education authority in 1990 when the Inner London Education Authority was dissolved. Since 2000

966-524: The council was as follows: The next election is due in May 2026. The council meets at Camden Town Hall on Judd Street, which was completed in 1937 for the old St Pancras Borough Council, originally being known as St Pancras Town Hall. The council's main offices are at 5 Pancras Square, which was purpose-built for the council as part of the regeneration of the King's Cross area, being completed in 2014. Prior to 2014

1008-578: The council's main offices were at the Town Hall Annexe, which had been completed in 1977 at the corner of Argyle Street and Euston Road , immediately east of the Town Hall. The Town Hall Annexe was subsequently converted into a hotel. Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 55 councillors representing 20 wards , with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. The wards are: In 2012 it

1050-416: The destruction of inadequate houses in the inner cities that had been built before the 1875 Act. This released land for housing and the need for smaller two bedroomed houses to replace the two-up two-down houses that had been demolished. Smaller three bedroom properties were also built. The Housing Act 1935 led to a continuation of this policy, but the war stopped all construction, and enemy action reduced

1092-514: The first generation of houses to feature electricity, running water, bathrooms, indoor toilets and front/rear gardens. However, until well into the 1930s, some were built with outdoor toilets. Some did not feature an actual bathroom; the bath could often be found in the kitchen with a design which allowed it to double as a work surface. The Chamberlain Act 1923 reduced the expected standards. The Wheatley Act 1924 attempted to restore some of them. Under

1134-403: The incoming Labour government of 1924. The Wheatley Act (1924) passed by the new Labour Government introduced higher subsidies for council housing and also allowed for a contribution to be made from the rates. The housing revenue account was always separated from the general account. This was a major period of council house construction. The Housing Act 1930 stimulated slum clearance, i.e.,

1176-414: The information about the ban under a Freedom of Information request, claimed that "the public are right to be worried that their privacy is at risk across a range of government services." Following Freedom of Information requests in 2020, it was discovered that only 16% of Camden's employees live within the borough, and that many of its employees live as far afield as Scotland and Northern Ireland. It

1218-418: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Camden_Council&oldid=932744650 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Camden London Borough Council The London Borough of Camden and its council were created under

1260-466: The most needy. They could be funded directly by local councils, through central government incentive or by revenue obtained when other houses were sold. Increasingly, they have been transferred through the instrument of housing associations into the private sector. An early use of the new powers was in Bath , where 36 new houses named Lampard's Buildings were built in 1900 on the compulsory purchased site of

1302-404: The role of the state and the housing sector was further opened for private investors and actors. Deregulation of the mortgage finance sector in the 1980s was particularly significant, with the 1988 Housing Act introducing private competition into the sector. The Housing Act 1988 marked the onset of various policies resulting in the residualisation of the public housing. Residualisation refers to

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1344-526: The shrinking of the social housing stock, consisting mostly of deteriorated quality dwellings, and the growing concentration of disadvantaged minorities in such housing. As the residual housing sector is mostly concentrated in lower-income neighbourhoods, a ' neighbourhood effect ' manifests, reinforcing the idea of poverty as a problem of the place which has allowed market ideologies to advocate against decommodified housing provision. A landlord's obligations are set out in several pieces of legislation, including

1386-429: The state in the sector existed as providers of public housing aimed at a broad range of households. This changed starting from the 1970s, with social housing entering the mainstream. Social housing emphasizes the 'safety net' characteristic in that it is only for those whose needs are not met in the market. The transformation of the sector from a public housing as serving a wide range of households with different incomes to

1428-450: The transfer of council housing to not-for-profit housing associations with access to private finance, and these new housing associations became the providers of most new public-sector housing. The characterisation of council houses as 'problem places' was key for leading this movement of transferring public housing stock to the private arena. By 2003, 36.5% of the social rented housing stock was held by housing associations. House design in

1470-450: The usable housing stock. The Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act 1944 led to the building of prefab bungalows with a design life of ten years. Innovative steel-framed properties were also tried in an attempt to speed up construction. A number survive well into the 21st century, a testament to the durability of a series of housing designs and construction methods only envisaged to last 10 years. The Burt Committee , formed in 1942 by

1512-483: The wartime government of Winston Churchill, proposed to address the need for an anticipated 200,000 shortfall in post-war housing stock, by building 500,000 prefabricated houses , with a planned life of up to 10 years within five years of the end of the Second World War . The eventual bill, under the post-war Labour government of Prime Minister Clement Attlee , agreed to deliver 300,000 units within 10 years, within

1554-406: Was a cut in funding and the housing density on the peripheral estates was increased leading to a poorer build quality. The former tenants of the inner city properties were displaced far from their workplaces unable to afford the higher rents (though reduced from the 1919 levels) or the cost of transport. Stable communities were broken up, and with it support networks. All prefab units approved by

1596-746: Was a revival in council housebuilding in the 2010s, with a focus on energy efficiency. Schemes such as Accordia in Cambridge and Goldsmith Street in Norwich have won awards. In London, space standards have been reintroduced via the London Plan , and councils including Southwark and Hounslow are building thousands of new council houses. Beginning in the 1970s with Thatcherism , the housing sector witnessed public expenditure cutbacks, along with cutbacks in other public sectors like health and education, yet more extreme than those. This retrenchment from public housing

1638-471: Was also discovered that senior employees were more likely to live further away from Camden, with a spokesperson saying that finding employees with specialised skillsets near to the borough was 'almost impossible'. Camden stated in response that all their staff are provided with one day's extra leave for volunteering, with a 'focus on Camden'. Statistics also showed that only a single employee lived in Camden's three Central London wards, despite comprising almost

1680-402: Was justified by a preference for a private housing market, or for commodification over public goods, and by the popularity of the critical description of council houses as a 'sink estate'. "Sink estates" were criticized as "cut off from society's mainstream" with "self-inflicted poverty stemming from...the dead weight of low expectations." In the immediate years of the post-war era, the role of

1722-451: Was reported that Camden Council was one of several local authorities to have been banned from accessing information from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency . This information is normally made available to local authorities for purposes such as enforcing parking fines, but access can be withdrawn if they are found to be mis-using the service. The Big Brother Watch organisation, which obtained

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1764-478: Was used extensively in new towns. As a result, the houses are accessible to the front only by footpaths. This has created areas with poor surveillance, particularly over car parking at the rear, which have become the focus of crime. In Skelmersdale, tenants are calling for their Radburn style housing to be remodelled so that defensible space is created with parking close to their homes and a reduction in general use areas which give rise to anti-social behaviour. There

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