A Hackney councillor has claimed that the council is powerless to prevent artists being forced out of the Wick due to high rents.
Nick Sharman, councillor for Hackney Wick, said the council is unable to fight a “tsunami of rising rent prices”.
Mr Sharman also rejected allegations of neglect made by the founder of a campaign for affordable artistic workspace in the area.
He was responding to comments made by Richard Brown, founder of campaign group AffordableWick.
Mr Brown told Hackney Post that local authorities “don’t really give a s***” about sustaining a creative culture in the area.
“I’d like to know what his evidence is for making that generalised and unjustified comment,” Mr Sharman said.
“Our hands are tied in a lot of ways, if you don’t own the land you can’t set the rent. Our influence is very much an indirect one.
“If you improve things to a very high level and it all looks great with potted plants then those rents will be higher.”
Mr. Brown, who also sits on a planning and development group for local artists, said the best protection for local artists were “really dodgy landlords, who aren’t in a hurry to develop their buildings. In a really backhanded way they’re providing a really important space.”
“There are massive building costs when you do something new and that’s why it’s really hard to have affordable rent because you have to pay the cost of development.”
Fellow artists have voiced concern on Twitter, with Susan Supercharged of Mother Studios commenting: “Good Bye Hackney Wick; another location of artists studios on Dace road sold today. As well as more DEVELOPERS in my building today.”
AffordableWick has built a roaming workshop made from scrap materials, which is still available for rent by local artists.
“In the end it cost me something like £100 to build. It doesn’t have a land value, it doesn’t live anywhere. It’s nomadic, a bit like the residents here, they’re a bit nomadic.”
Hackney Wick folk, you MUST respond to the LLDC local plan, TODAY, it will cost you five minutes, folllow this link:http://t.co/sJyi9BQECA
— Richard Brown (@affordablewick) February 7, 2014
https://twitter.com/supercharged10/status/522126582434267136
– the interview with Richard Brown, AffordableWick
MA Newspaper Journalism student at City University currently covering the Hackney Wick area. Email all stories to LouisDore311@gmail.com