Property professionals were greeted today by a barrage of abuse from activists gathered at the entrance to the London Real Estate Forum.
Communist campaigners gathered this afternoon to berate those attending the 2,000-attendee conference on Berkeley Square, W1.
Holding placards bearing slogans such as “all landlords are bastards”, around 20 housing activists from local authority areas such as Southwark – home of Lendlease’s controversial Heygate Estate scheme – criticised the “arrogance” of developers and investors about the perceived privatisation of public land.
The protests came despite a Community Engagement Day held yesterday in an effort to engage and include communities that are currently being effected by the developments displayed at the show.
Housing activist Kat Allison said she was attending as part of a Communist organisation and that she was currently campaigning for more social rent property being built amid what she described as a sell-off of public land.
Talking about the event, she said: “This place is about the sell-off of public land in London. It’s this asset that everyone wants a piece of. We are inviting people to come and buy our land.
“They are colluding with each other and turning the land into a commodity. I’ve seen the programme of events and [the attendees] are part of the problem.
“They need to feel that anger. That’s why we’re here.”
Another activist criticised the “managed decline” of housing estates around England and said unaffordable flats were being built in their place, after councils allowed them to become not-fit-for-purpose and capitalised on higher land values in central London.
