Donald Hunter House, Woodgrange Road.

Local historian and housing specialist, Peter Williams,  relates the interesting story behind one of Forest Gate's most prominent land marks: Donald Hunter House.

Introduction

Most Forest Gate residents will be familiar with the tall building at the corner of Woodgrange Road and Romford Road above the Iceland store. Older residents will know it as Telephone House. Newcomers may know it as Donald Hunter House, and it has quite an interesting history.

That corner of Forest Gate suffered substantial damage in the Blitz, with the original Victorian Methodist church destroyed by bombs on 17 April 1941. It was replaced in the post war period by the current church. The Princess Alice pub was also destroyed and had to be replaced in 1950s.

Council flats were built to replace the Victorian villas of the Woodgrange estate. The council took the opportunity to provide a new public library for Forest gate. This was at first floor level above the council built shops with an entrance in Claremont Road. This was replaced in the last 15 years or so and the old library became a training centre run by a local charity.

The architects model below commissioned by Newham Council shows the vision for the area from Osborne Road to Romford Road. Not all of this was built but Telephone House can be seen to the right, and the low rise shops with library above to the left.

The current Forest Gate library occupies the ground floor of what was Telephone House. The library was originally branded The Gate, but has been recently rebranded the CNC or Community Neighbourhood Centre, reflecting the new role libraries have assumed in Newham. The book stock has been reduced and space created for a wide variety of community activities and events.

Telephone House, Woodgrange Road, was built in 1958 by what was then the Post Office, that ran both what we think of as post offices, but also Post Office Telephones, the forerunner of what became BT (British Telecommunications) when privatised by Mrs Thatcher.

The building was the headquarters of Post Office Telephones for the eastern area of the London. On the ground floor was a Post Office, which later moved across the road into a private shop. There was also a showroom on the ground floor of Telephone House displaying the latest telephone equipment for sale when you could only by your phone (landline) from BT. There was no choice in those days!

BT leave

Around about the year 2000 BT declared the whole building including the tower block redundant as they rationalised their offices. In recent years it has become commonplace to convert old offices into residential (not least because the Cameron government liberalised planning laws to help this happen, developers often no longer need planning permission). But in 2000 it was still relatively rare to convert office to residential.

The old Telephone House was bought by a company called Peabody Unite plc with the intention of converting it into housing for keyworkers. There was already a housing crisis in London and people like trainee nurses, social workers and teachers had a desperate need but cheap but accessible accommodation.

Donald Hunter House, today

In the 1980s Newham Council in fact had made some hard to let council flats available for teachers, social workers and other young professionals who they found hard to recruit into the borough to work for them and other public bodies, but by the late 1990s these schemes had come to an end as homeless pressures increased and the council could not spare flats. The Metropolitan Police also had small tower blocks of its own to accommodate young constables at Selsdon Road, Upton Park and another one behind East Ham police station, but these were sold off many years ago.

Peabody Unite plc was itself an interesting organisation, a joint venture between the famous Peabody Housing Association, founded in Victorian times by the great American philanthropist George Peabody, and Unite Group plc,  then a small private company specialising in key worker housing. As the press release put it:

London NHS workers gain new affordable homes with Peabody Unite's £33 million investment

                                                                                                                                                                                          2 August 2000

 

The UNITE Group plc, the UK's leading specialist provider of accommodation services for students and key workers, has today announced that its joint venture operation with the Peabody Trust, Peabody Unite, is developing two schemes in London, which will be worth £33.3 million on completion, and will create more than 500 quality, affordable bed spaces for Barts and the London NHS Trust homes workers in Whitechapel and Forest Gate, East London.

On completion the building was renamed Donald Hunter House after a well known doctor and according to the company “provided quality Peabody UNITE homes for 256 key workers.”

In 2013 the owners applied to vary their original planning permission which had said that they could only house ‘economically active’ people i.e. keyworkers in the dwellings but Newham Council refused to agree this change to the planning rules for the block. In 204 a different planning application allowed the building for the first time to be used as a hostel. (see below)

Quality was always an issue in the building as the faculties were fairly basic with small rooms and shared facilities such as communal kitchens. It was never hugely popular with the NHS staff it was targeted at and Peabody Unite began to market it to a wider audience of keyworkers, and by late 2013 when it closed in that form they were housing some students there.

Unite plc (not with Peabody) went on to be a major provider of private sector student housing in London building many new blocks all over central London. Their rents are not cheap, and now they attract a huge number of foreign students with rich parents who can afford their market rents.

They have massive new-build schemes in Stratford, notably the thousand home red building with a stepped profile that towers at 28 floors over the Olympic Park behind John Lewis, (called Stratford One and opened in 2014) and the 750 room scheme at the corner of Angel Lane by Stratford tube station opened 2015. East London has been a success story for them.

Donald Hunter House was less of a success and was put up for sale around 2014. On 15^th October that year 4-20 Woodgrange Road was acquired by an offshore company Stratos Holdings, Martello Court, Admiral Park, St Peter Port, Guernsey. It is the only property owned by the company in the UK and the holding includes both The Gate library and Iceland stores.  So, Newham Council are paying rent to Stratos in order to run a library there.

This information is drawn from public Land Registry data that has featured on this site before in an article showing links of Forest Gate properties to tax havens (see here).

Stratos was specially created offshore to hold the building but the actual owner are Saudi Arabian oil interests. When it became clear that Forest Gate was to become a beneficiary of the opening of a Crossrail station, Donald Hunter House was snapped by this Saudi company, sensing a good return on the investment would be pretty much guaranteed.

The Saudis decided they did not want to demolish and redevelop straight away so they looked round for an interim use. They got in touch with one of a number of private sector companies that have developed over the last decade or so specialising in providing homeless temporary accommodation to London boroughs.

Homeless accommodation

London councils have always wanted to try to avoid the use of so called Bed and Breakfast hotels, which in reality are simply another form of private rented accommodation where the council is paying a premium for its immediate availability. Central Government introduced a target a few years ago saying councils must not leave families in B&B for more than 6 weeks, and this forced councils into the hands of a different kind of private landlord, offering short term lets in the private sector at a price below a hotel price but normally above rents for ordinary self contained private accommodation. Often it was the same businessmen involved in both kinds of accommodation.

Nevertheless this new style of homeless temporary accommodation was often of a slightly better standard than the traditional B&B with a higher degree of self containment, some being small flats or studios. Councils entered into longer term contracts to secure a better overall price.

One such private property company was TANDO who did business with Newham council in Canning Town to put back into use some empty council flats that were awaiting a more comprehensive redevelopment. However they ran into some difficulties there outlined in a story in the Newham Recorder early in 2017.

This story was also covered in the Guardian. Another of these specialist companies was Theori:

A Freedom of information Act (FOI) request to Newham in 2015 sought to tease out the relationship between Newham Council and the following companies:

·         Tando Homes Ltd and associated companies

·         Theori Investments

·         Omega Lettings - and associated companies; and

·         Mears Group

All these companies have links. Tando in fact is a shortened form of Theori  AND Omega, T and O. To quote from a council report online in the context of Canning Town and Custom House:

Theori Property Services Ltd has a stated environmental policy that demonstrates a commitment, wherever practical to use environmentally friendly products (such as condensing boilers). They have a waste management strategy designed to deal with refurbishment and build waste. Both the environment policy and waste management strategy will be adopted by TANDO Property Services Ltd.

Donald Hunter House was under the Omega lettings brand and in recent period has been block booked by Tower Hamlets Council for their homeless families. Newham Council had used it briefly in 2014/15 but Tower Hamlets were able to pay a better price due to the quirks of the Housing Benefit system – the rent allowance is higher in Tower Hamlets than Newham. Many of the social care and education costs of these families of course fall on Newham, though some families travel back to their home borough for schooling. Omega operates as a Registered Provider, regulated by a government bod,y but unlike a housing association it makes profits for its shareholders.

Conclusion

When it comes to homelessness there is a ‘dog eat dog’ attitude amongst London boroughs as they are all competing for scarce housing resources, and landlords are able to profit from this lack of cooperation in London. London has 32 housing authorities; New York is just 5 boroughs and with a Mayor across the whole city with stronger strategic powers than London’s.  In London councils have been forced into the hands of highly profitable property businesses specialising in homeless temporary accommodation due to the lack of affordable supply. Donald Hunter House is held offshore in a tax haven pending re-development by Saudi oil money.

References

This article uses publicly available sources: here, here, here, here and here 

Planning applications can be seen online at Newham planning portal. FOIs are here:

Councillor/landlord interests in Forest Gate

Great detective work by the local Green Party has thrown up an interesting story about the property interests of some of our local councillors, which we examine, below.

This blog also provides a timely update on  matters relating to our previous article on overseas companies' interests in Forest Gate properties - following comments from a couple of our followers/readers.

After an examination of the Greens' work, you might conclude that as far as some local representatives are concerned, they could as well be described as representing the local Landlord Party, as the local Labour Party.

The Green Party has established that - between them - 46 Newham councillors own or control nearly 100 properties in Newham. A charitable observer may conclude that 43 of those properties are effectively owner occupied by councillors.

Which leaves the interesting story of the remaining 56 (that we know of).

Nine Newham councillors (about one in 7 of the total) are, by any standards, significant local landlords - and all elected as Labour members.

Beckton councillor, Ayesha Chowdhury is queen of the group, with 19 properties in the borough, which have a combined estimated value of in excess of £4.5 million, and a collective monthly rent of over £20,000. 

The capitals gains on these properties since their original purchase (using Land Registry and Zoopla figures) exceeds £1.5million. She built up her property empire from her home - a Newham council flat (!) - until exposed by the national press four years ago.

Cllr Ayesha Chowdhury - property queen, who built her empire while living in a Newham council house and her Forest Gate interest - 21 Eric Close

Second in the local landlord/councillor stakes is Royal Docks member Antony McAlmont, whose registered properties (mostly controlled by limited companies, including Ashbel UK) total seven, with a value of almost £3.5 million.

Cllr Antony McAlmont, whose local
 property interest is wrapped up
 in limited companies

Third placed is Ahmed Noor (Plaistow South), with at least five properties in Newham, conservatively valued at £3million. He has provoked considerable controversy because of his property dealings in Forest Gate (see below).

Next on the local landlord/councillor list is Unmesh Desai (East Ham, Central), who has recently been selected as Labour candidate for the Greater London Assembly seat of City and East London, in next May's election.

The Greens have tracked down five properties in his ownership, with a combined Zoopla estimated value in excess of £2million, and a hypothetical capital gain of almost £1million, since their original acquisition.

Step forward Green Street East Councillor Mukesh Patel, as next in line. There have been five Newham properties registered to his name, two of which have subsequently been transferred to Piyush Patel (his wife?).

Green St East's Mukesh Patel,
 with five Newham properties

Next our very own, former absentee Mayoral adviser on Forest Gate, Rohima Rahman (Green Street East). She is registered as the beneficial owner of three Newham properties, with a combined value of £1.25 million. One of these properties is a leasehold one, with Newham Council owning the freehold.

Forest Gate South member, Mas Patel, owns two properties in Newham and at least one other in Ilford, while neighbouring, Green Street West councillor Idris Ibrahim is the registered owner of two Newham properties.

Green St West's Idris Ibrahim
 - just the two local properties

2 and 21 Westbury Road, in Forest Gate, for local councillor, Idris Ibrahim

Manor Park councillor Salim Patel rounds up this part of this survey - he, also, directly owns two Newham properties. He is, however, involved with a complex web of property companies, which between them own a further 10 properties in the borough.

The Forest Gate interest

32 councillor-owned properties are located in Forest Gate and at least four councillors with a direct interest in the area feature in the lists, above.

Property queen Ayesha Chowdhury (see above) has an interest in the E7 postcode, with the ownership of 18 Eric Close, from which she receives £1,000 rent per month. She has overseen a capital gain of £75,000 on this property, since she took ownership of it, which is now valued by Zoopla with a value of £264,000.

Four of Ahmed Noor's five properties lie within the E7 postcode; and the fifth is in East Ham. Two of the Forest Gate properties (218 and 230 Green Street) are shops. A third is 46 Windsor Road, from which he collects a monthly rent of £3,500.

Cllr Ahmed Noor (left) - suspended  from the Labour Party nationally  and locally after breaching planning  permission. 238 Romford Road, the controversial  building in question, whose flats, additionally  provided "poor quality accommodation" (see below for details)

Noor's two Green Street Shops - 218 and 230

46 Windsor, another of Noor's Forest Gate
 portfolio, delivering a monthly rental of £3,500

Most controversially Cllr Noor also owns 238 Romford Road. Forest Gate resident, Martin Warne, in his excellent blog: Forestgate.net has tracked his relationship with this premises. The building (see photo, above) has planning permission for commercial, not residential use. It was, however, sometime recently converted into a rooming house, or more officially a "house in multiple occupation", without appropriate approval.


Cllr Noor was issued with an enforcement notice this Spring, following its unauthorised conversion, which not only highlighted the unlawful refurbishment, but drew attention to its shoddy state. The notice said:

The conversion of the property to a house in multiple occupation provides a poor quality of accommodation, which is to the detriment of the persons who live there, and at a neighbourhood level, harms the objective of creating healthier neighbourhoods. It is therefore contrary to the policy ... and requirements of the Lifetime Homes Standards. (our emphasis).

Cllr Noor quickly said that he complied with the notice and returned it to commercial usage (see photograph suggesting that it is the headquarters of a plumbing company). He was, however, suspended from the Labour Party, locally and nationally, pending an investigation into his actions surrounding it.

Cllr Noor's excuse was that it was rented out to a third party which was responsible for the conversion, without his knowledge. It is not clear whether Newham Council has conducted a subsequent inspection to determine that the premises are actually commercial now, or that the unsightly advertising is simply a smoke screen for continued unauthorised domestic occupancy.

Would-be Greater London Authority member and Newham Councillor, Unmesh Desai's local property portfolio includes 115 Tower Hamlets Road, in Forest Gate. He receives a monthly rent of £1,300 for this and has benefitted from a capital gain from it of in excess of £200,000, since he first purchased the house. His other E7 acquisition is 34 Rothsay Road.

Would be Greater London
 Authority councillor, and
 close associate of Mayor
 Robin Wales, Unmesh
 Desai with two Forest
 Gate and five
Newham-wide properties

34 Rothsay and 115 Tower Hamlets Road - part of local the Desai property collection

Rohima Rahman, Forest Gate's now deposed former mayoral Advisor on Forest Gate owns 21 Dorset Road, as one of her three Newham properties. She has seen a capital gain on it of almost £200,000, since her original purchase of it.

Familiar face? The former absentee "mayoral advisor" on Forest Gate. Too busy looking after her property interests (one of which, 21 Dorset Road, shown right) to be an active Forest Gate advisor?

Being a Councillor for Green Street West is handy for Idris Ibhrahim. It means he can keep an eye on the interest of the two properties he owns on Westbury Road (2 and 21) - see above for photos.

Forest Gate South councillor, Mas Patel is similarly well-placed to look out for developments regarding to his properties at 23 Vale Road and 74 A - C Upton Lane.

Forest Gate South's Mas
 Patel 

Mas of property in Forest Gate: 74 a-c Upton Lane and 23 Vale Roads

Manor Park's Salim Patel's local property empire is difficult to fully establish, given the complex property-owning structure of companies he benefits from.

But he certainly has an interest - possibly controlling - of five Forest Gate properties, through these arrangements, being those at 278 Shrewsbury and 6 Lincoln Roads, together with 113a and 115 Godwin and 12 Stafford Roads.

Manor Park's Salim Patel,
with five Forest Gate properties

Salim Patel's five Forest Gate properties: top: 6 Lincoln, 113b - 115 Godwin, second row: 278 Shrewsbury, 12 Stafford Roads

Many would argue that there is nothing intrinsically wrong about landlordism, or being a "buy-to-let" landlord in the complex property jungle that is London. Nor should it simplistically be assumed that "all landlords are Tories".

However, in the one-party state that is Newham, pretty much the only way to guarantee election to the Council - and to keep a watching eye over the fate of your property portfolio - is to stand as a Labour candidate.

How many of these landlords would be Tories, if Newham were less loyal to Labour? How many of them use and stand for Labour as a "flag of convenience", while having no regard to the party's policies about providing decent, reasonably-priced, homes for people?

In a one-party-state, with an autocratic mayor, it is particularly important to s/elect strong candidates, who will stand up for local people, rather than simply party hacks, or those flying under flags of convenience.

It is difficult to conclude that all of Labour's councillors fall into the category of candidates who will always stand for the interests of local people.

N.B. If any of the councillors above feel we have misrepresented, or indeed under-estimated, their property interests in this article, we will be happy to correct the detail, all of which has come from publicly available sources.

Overseas ownership update

There is progress to report on the building that we described as "prestigious" and "iconic" in the 'Offshore Forest Gate' post, last month (see here): BCP City Gate, on Romford Road.

We recorded this property, you may recall, as being registered in the Isle of Man in July 2005 to  BCP City Gate Ltd, with a recorded value - then - of £3,658,840.

The Isle of Man company which
 owned this local landmark -
 City Gate House - went into
liquidation in the Spring of this year

We have subsequently learned that the company was put in the hands of liquidators on 10 April this year. Quite how a company with that level of assets could sink into insolvency is unclear, unless the property concerned has been moved on to the ownership of yet another company.

We do not know why this should have happened, but will not be shedding any tears of sorrow for the fate of the liquidated company. It is difficult to believe that there are not ulterior motives at play, which will further enhance the position of the beneficial owners of the building - all firmly out of the sight of the British tax collector - of course!

Meanwhile, one more significant local building can be added to the list of the foreign owned, and largely exempt from British tax liability.

When it became clear that Forest Gate was to become a beneficiary of the opening of Crossrail, Woodgrange Road's Telephone House was snapped by a Saudi company, sensing a good return on the investment would be pretty much guaranteed.  

Although Saudi Arabia is not a tax haven, in the way that some of the countries mentioned in the original article are, there is no doubt that the British exchequer will not gain the same benefit from increased rents or values that it would have experienced had the building remained in UK ownership.

We also mentioned the cluster of properties around 50 Avenue Road, in our post, as being beneficially owned by Isle of Man based Dominion Ltd.

The property was formerly a hostel owned by the London and Quadrant Housing Association.  We understand from someone who knew the project well that the building was home to many of Forest Gate's "characters".

50 Avenue Road, forming housing
 association hostel, sold to Isle
 of Man based landlords, following
 unresolved dampness problems

Persistent, unresolved,  dampness problems with the premises, however, lead the housing association to sell the premises and move the residents on elsewhere. Thus explaining the sale of the property - but not providing an explanation for it coming under tax haven Isle of Man ownership.

Footnote. If you are interested to know more about our local Green Party, to whom we are greatly indebted for the bulk of the information in this blog, please follow @rachel_shares (chair of Newham Green Party, @newhamgreens on Twitter, or Like them on Facebook: http//www.facebook.com/newhamgreenparty.