The Jaconelli’s: Fighting On

Well, well, The Sun is now backing Margaret Jaconelli’s fight to get a decent price for her home (under imminent threat of eviction).

The Sun is a horrible right-wing rag but at least in this case they are following the story – even if their recent ‘scoop‘ was covered by us on August 13th (1 and a half months ago!):

read here

Still, at least they’ve pointed out the gross injustice of Margaret Jaconelli being offered a measly £30,000 for a two-bedroomed tenement flat, while three developers have profited to the the tune of “at least £16 million” between them for land sales nearby.

The City Council could have  used compulsory purchase powers to take the land of the developers, but instead ‘negotiated’ with the developers (Grantly Developments, Stewart and Mckenna, and property tycoon Charles Price) to allow exorbitant compensation claims, while they have squeezed the Jaconelli’s for pennies. A ‘game of two halves’ indeed.

As Jack Jaconelli, Margeret’s partner, said: “We have been offered £30,000 but our house was valued at that 20 years ago…The property developers have made fortunes while we are being offered peanuts.”

Even Graham Duffy of Grantly Developments – who was paid £5.5million by the Council for nearby land just few years after buying it for just £1.5million – thinks Margaret is getting a raw deal:

“The woman has been living in that building for all of her adult life…I can’t understand how the council can be spending £30million buying up land and there’s a wee lady there being offered £30,000. I’m surprised it’s come to this.”

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While The Sun has come out to support Margaret Jaconelli (for whatever dubious reason), The Herald, a supposedly left-wing paper -but actually pro-developer and pro-business (just as the Labour Party are) – has recently published a piece of uninformed and misrepresentative bile on the Jaconelli’s:

Read here

The Herald accuse the Jaconelli’s of holding out for £360,000 for their property in Dalmarnock. This would of course be outrageous, but what The Herald fail to make clear is that this price was set by the Jaconelli’s solicitor, and is what is known as an ambit claim (a commonly used extravagant initial price set in expectation of a compromise deal – haggling basically).

The claim might seem outrageous, but the Jaconelli’s solicitor calculated it on the basis of the amount of £4 million per hectare that Charles Price (Mayfair Properties) was paid for the land he profited from nearby. It didn’t seem so outrageous then. Once again; one rule for the rich, another for the poor. The reality is that the Jaconelli’s want no more than the market price for their home.

The Herald also lazily report that the Jaconelli’s have been “offered a number of properties”, but what they fail to report is that none of these have been properties which the Jaconelli’s would  own as they currently do. Quite rightly, they want like-for-like, they don’t want a shared ownership or rented replacement for their fully owned-home.

Would you?

Support the Jaconelli’s when the bailiff’s come: