In principle, public ballots would add legitimacy to regeneration projects. But with the complex nature of some of these projects, will decisions become too binary? The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, raised eyebrows last month when he outlined his administration’s new stance on mandatory residential ballots for certain estate regeneration projects. The Greater London Authority (GLA) published a draft good practice guide to regeneration in February, accompanied by a consultation paper making clear Khan’s support for ballots in certain situations.
In principle, such votes would add legitimacy to regeneration projects and ensure the protection of residents’ rights, whilst also protecting and increasing social and affordable housing. The Mayor hopes consultation and cooperation between landlords and tenants will be encouraged and that mutually beneficial projects will result. While nobody doubts the GLA’s commendable motives for this proposal, as the consultation continues, it is important to consider the merits and drawbacks of such an approach.
The proposed requirement for balloting would cover any planned strategic estate regeneration scheme of 150 or more new homes, which involves the demolition of existing affordable or social housing. It will therefore apply to many of the more extensive plans for regenerating housing estates in London and, if not carefully considered, could see a vote by residents derailing otherwise much needed projects.
The ballot would be a simple yes or no vote, with a 51 per cent majority required to carry the motion. One would be forgiven for thinking that politicians might be aware of the challenges of trying to achieve democratic consensus using yes/no politics by now. Despite Khan’s best intentions, balloting on these issues would mean condensing very complex questions to a single decision. Furthermore, the requirement for a simple majority could also see a scheme going ahead despite almost half of residents voting against it, which would hardly suggest a consensus.