From 2006 to 2010, I was a councillor for Lee Green ward in the London Borough of Lewisham. During that time, I blogged regularly and in 2009 I won the Tim Garden Award for the Best Blog by a Liberal Democrat Holding Public Office. My blog posts from my term of office are archived here in case they prove of use to former constituents, or to those who share my annoyance with faulty street furniture
Hello from Vermont! I’m currently in the States with my day job, looking at the award-winning Community Land Trust in Burlington, Vermont – the Champlain Housing Trust.
We’ve been looking at schemes like the one on the right – permanently affordable homes on land held in trust on behalf of the community. That particular scheme brought an abandoned corner store back into use as a commercial unit with two affordable apartments above it.
We’ve also been meeting with local politicians, including Senator Bernie Sanders, Mayor Bob Kiss and local councillors. As a politics-and-housing geek, it doesn’t get much better than this..!
I’m back in Lee Green at the weekend, but in the meantime, I’ve got limited access to email so am keeping on top of Council work. If there’s something urgent, though, you might want to contact Paul or Sven.
I was in Burlington a couple of weeks back – it’s a nice place. Enjoy!