Being sent to Coventry

**Not getting halls in my first year at Warwick meant I was ‘sent to Coventry’. Literally. Had I remained in the city I would now be awaiting an influx of inhabitants from my native Brent. **

But what have they to look forward to and why are they coming? Coventry does have its selling points (most notably Kasbah). But Brent Council have decided to ‘rehouse’ tenants in Coventry as, from April, a national £500 per week benefit cap means that more than 3,000 people will be unable to pay Brent rates. Rather than providing affordable housing, the Council will move those who cannot pay. So how much cheaper is Coventry? Brent Council has produced a series of tables showing that a family of two adults and three children could afford a three or four bedroom house. The council assume moving people is simply economics.

Personally, I missed Brent, and I only had to experience a temporary transition. Can we seriously consider moving people out of their homes, away from the much-needed support of their families and their community? You can now house your family of four in Coventry. What does it matter if you lose the proximity of your family, friends and, Brent’s proudest landmark, Wembley Stadium? We shouldn’t ignore the ethics of this situation.

Ironically, Brent are building new academies to meet with demand for school places. In its first public debate on the budget for 2013, Council leader, Muhammed Butt, claimed Brent had been “left with a recipe for social damage not seen since the Second World War”: the obvious parallels with wartime evacuation are clear.

He pledged the council would work “relentlessly” to support the community- how exactly do they expect to do this when they are making plans to remove members of this community? Having met Butt at community events I find it hard to understand how someone who has vigorously defended community values can even consider plans to move people out of Brent.

But this isn’t the only change Brent has experienced recently: fierce protests against library closures have been ignored by the council even though this is sure to have a detrimental effect on young people and families. In fact, Coventry already has its own housing issues. Earlier this year almost 20,000 people were still on the accommodation waiting list according to The Coventry Telegraph. Perhaps the University should rent out all those empty rooms in Sherbourne?