London Council Ordered To Disclose Details Of Empty Properties

A judge has ordered a council to make public a list of empty homes after a squatting campaigner challenged its refusal to reveal the list under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.









Camden Council argued that disclosing the list could lead to organised crime in and around the properties.

However, the judge said any concerns were outweighed by the public interest in returning empty properties to use.

Camden has 28 days to comply with the FOI request.

The ruling was a victory for Yiannis Voyias of the Advisory Service for Squatters.

Mr Voyias argued that making the list public would "rejuvenate the empty homes debate" and put pressure on the government to tackle empty property.

He said academic researchers, homelessness charities - and even English Heritage - would benefit from disclosure of the number and location of unoccupied homes.

Camden's lawyers argued the disclosure of the list would compromise "the prevention or detection of crime".
'Not illegal'

Local police, who are backing the council's stance, said there was a link between squatting and crimes, including vandalism, running crack houses and threatening behaviour.

Camden also pointed out that, after a list of long-term empty homes in Lambeth was made public, the number of squatted properties in that borough almost doubled.

Under the ruling Camden will have to release information on all empty council owned properties and on private properties owned by a non-individuals that it knows to be unoccupied.

Judge Fiona Henderson accepted that disclosure of the list was likely to have "a negative impact on the prevention of crime".

But she said there was a lack of evidence that squatters were the source of more anti-social behaviour than rent-paying tenants.

She also emphasised the fact that squatting "is not illegal".

In a statement, Camden said it was considering its legal options.

Parents Paying £77,000 'Premium' For Homes Near Top State Schools

Parents are paying ‘premiums’ of on average £77,000 to buy homes near leading state schools, research out today suggests.
















Pricey: Catchment area of the Henrietta Barnett school (pictured) has homes with an average price of £655,429.

Property prices within sought-after catchment areas are 35 per cent higher than in the rest of the UK, with an average asking price of £298,378.

The most expensive catchment area of a state school in Britain’s top ten surrounds all-girls grammar Henrietta Barnett, in Barnet, north-west London, where the average house price is £655,429.

The premiums have soared from an average of £20,000 in just four years.

And rent in the catchment areas of the top 50 state schools – at an average of £944 a month – is 7.8 per cent higher than in the rest of the country. For the catchment areas of six of them, rental prices are as high as £1,500 a month.

But the premiums are still cheaper than most private school fees, which can top £30,000 a year.

The research is likely to reignite the bitter row over school ‘selection by mortgage’ rather than ability.

The phenomenon has prompted some councils to adopt controversial lotteries – effectively picking names from a hat – to give children from poorer homes an equal chance of getting a place at a top school.











The research, from property website PrimeLocation.com, is based on average asking prices in July this year and GCSE results taken from 2010.

It shows a handful of the top schools are in areas with typical house prices more than twice the national average of £221,110.

These include St Olave’s and St Saviour’s Grammar in Orpington, Kent, ranked second in the UK, where house prices average £592,471. Notably, house prices in the area around the top-rated Bishop Wordsworth’s Grammar, in Salisbury, are just below the average for leading schools at £286,112.

Nigel Lewis, property analyst at PrimeLocation.com, says: ‘For many years now the challenges of the catchment area-based lottery for state schools have vexed millions of parents across the UK – and our research highlights how much it can cost to get your child into the ideal school.’

n The first 24 ‘free schools’ are to receive £130million between them from the Government to cover their start-up costs this year.

Among those getting state backing is the Maharishi School, in Ormskirk, Lancashire, where children as young as four will be given meditation classes.