By
Leon Watson
Last updated at 6:08 PM on 27th February 2012
It’s the kind of council order that would make most homeowners hit the roof.
But this didn’t apply to just one house – it applied to the whole street.
Residents of every property in Shepherdess Walk in Hackney, East London, were told by their local council to remove their satellite dishes.
Residents in Shepherdress Walk, east London, were ordered to remove satellite dishes – or face eviction
Council bosses said they don’t have planning permission and gave them just three days to pull them.
Most of the dishes have been fixed to the front of houses for more than ten years. But Hackney Borough Council says planning permission was never granted.
The council has now told housing trust Circle 33 to make their tenants take down the dishes and fit them to the rear of houses – or switch to cable.
Each family will have to foot the bill for the work themselves – which could cost up to £200 if they have to cancel their existing contract and switch suppliers.
Some families believe they are the victims of a bid to clean up Hackney before the start of the Olympic Games in London in June.
The borough is hosting a third of the Games’ facilities and borders the main Olympic Park in Stratford, Newham.
Many of the homes in Shepherdess Walk, Hackney, have had satellite dishes on them for more than ten years
Hackney Council denies the claims, although the deadline for tenants to remove the dishes has now been extended by three weeks.
One neighbour, who has lived on the street for ten years, said: ‘It is absolutely outrageous.
‘In all this time that we have lived here we have never been told to remove our satellite dishes. So why now?
‘I think it must be something to do with the Olympics. Why else would they suddenly ask us to remove the satellite dishes?
‘I heard they are trying to clean up the area for the games and they must think satellite dishes ruin the look of the street. But I think it looks fine.’
Tony Emberson, 48, an administrator, said: ‘I got the letter with only three days to sort something out.
Residents believe the council’s order is part of a bid to smarten the area up ahead of the Olympics, many events of which will be staged from the Olympic Park in the neighbouring borough of Newham
‘The letter said Hackney Council had told Circle 33 the dishes had to be removed because we live in a listed building.
‘I’ve lived here for 16 years and this is the first time I’ve heard anything about that. There was nothing in my tenancy agreement saying that, and I’ve had my satellite for 13 years.
‘It’s not just the expense, it’s the inconvenience.’
Susan Jolly, 44, an accountant, who has lived on the street for eight years said: ‘It is quite clear the council have behaved badly and handled this very poorly.’
Families first received letters on Saturday, February 18 asking them to take down their dishes by Tuesday, February 21.
It stated no planning permission had ever been granted for the listed street, which is three miles from the Olympic Village and close to main routes from the central London to the site.
Circle 33’s letter told residents that if they failed to remove the dishes eviction proceedings could be started against them.
A spokesman for the housing trust said: ‘On receiving the information, Circle 33 wrote to tenants to inform them of the requirement.
‘We also immediately approached Hackney Council to seek an extension of the deadline in order to give residents more time to comply.
‘We have now received notice that the deadline for the removal of the dishes has now been extended until March 23 and have written to residents to inform them.
‘We are offering residents advice and support to help them through the process.’
Hackney Council has heralded the 2012 Games as a vital boost for public transport, job opportunities and improved culture and leisure facilities.
A global audience of more than three billion viewers is expected to tune into the sporting event.
Thomas Williams, 73, a retired carpenter, who has lived on the street for 30 years said he was ‘appalled’ by the ‘arrogant’ attitude of the council.
He said: ‘I have lived here for over 30 years – it is very suspicious that they have only decided to do something about it now.
‘I think it’s to do with the Olympics – maybe they think the dishes will ruin the look of the streets.
‘But my satellite is on the roof and not even visible so I don’t know why I can’t keep my mine.
A spokeswoman for Hackney Borough Council said: ‘The satellite dishes were brought to the attention of Hackney Borough Council after a complaint was made by a neighbour.
‘The dishes are on listed buildings which were put up without planning permission.
‘We have a scheme to ensure all satellite dishes on listed buildings without planning permission are taken down.
‘It is part of an enforcement action which is general across the whole borough.
‘The properties are all owned by Circle 33 and as the landlords it’s their responsibility to enforce the action on the tenants.’
-
Little Britain star Matt Lucas quits Twitter over dead lover… -
At least 100 families raking in enough housing benefits to… -
The hitman trapped by a codebreaker: Gunman convicted after… -
‘I was gnawed by a rat in my hospital bed’: Patient’s horror… -
It’s the hurly learning centre! Babies left screaming in… -
‘What would happen if I had a scarf over my face?’:… -
More than 30 British holidaymakers stranded after fire on… -
How those 20st wedding gowns have made Gypsy dressmaker her… -
Is the waiter Greek? Hilarious video shows moment server… -
Osborne’s fuel duty blow to drivers as diesel hits record… -
Owners of Wentworth Woodhouse stately home make £100m… -
Show some backbone! Ex-MS chief tells firms to defy…
Share this article:
Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.
The comments below have been moderated in advance.
-
Newest -
Oldest -
Best rated -
Worst rated
They should not put them there in the first place.
And considering they did not bother to ask for planing permission they should count themselves lucky not getting fined.
Report abuse
Listed buildings are listed for a reason and that is to maintain the look of a building at a fixed moment in time.If that moment was before the invention of satellite television then the dishes cannot be fixed in a position that is visible from the street or public areas. It is Circle33 that is at fault here not the council ,though someone at the council must surely have noticed dishes going up on these buildings even if they were not informed directly.All the residents should have been told that the building is listed and that no exterior changes including aerials can be attached to the building.If they read their leases they will probably find this information but not many people will bother to read a document that can sometimes be over 100 pages long and most of it in legal jargon so incomprehensible to normal people they give up reading after a few pages.By the way I think it would look better without the dishes Olympic year or not
Report abuse
Got to agree with the Council here. It`s a lovely terrace of period houses disfigured by these gross dishes!!
Report abuse
good, they look ugly…oh and your a tenant so it’s not yours to be putting hori=rible black dishes on…ha!
Report abuse
The dishes do look a bit of a mess. Surely it isn’t too much trouble for SKY to install them on roofs of properties? I’m not a satellite engineer, but wouldn’t it be possible to have just maybe one or two dishes servicing a full row of houses?
Report abuse
Why can’t the service providers provide a single dish per company that can be tapped into by individual subscribers? Why have a 200 unit apartment complex use 200 dishes? Put up a couple of dishes on the roof-top and some amps. Receivers can decipher subsciber plans. It really does look awful and seems really inefficient.
Report abuse
After 4 years you can apply for a Certificate of proposed lawful development .
If you have proof that the dish has been there more than 4 years not a lot the council can do.
Report abuse
They are a bit of an eyesore. However, I do agree with the tenants that it does appear to be connected to the Olympics. The council must have known before now that the dishes were there. To get the dishes removed relocated is going to cost a fair bit. I wonder what it says in the tenancy agreement about erecting satellite dishes? If the tenants are in breach of their contracts, then why hasn’t the housing association done anything about it before now? They would have known the dishes were there. If there is nothing in the tenancy agreement about satellite dishes, the housing association should be responsible for any cost involved in relocating them. They would have known the buildings were listed properties would also have been aware of the rules regarding satellite dishes should have made it clear to their tenants. Think I would check it out. Tenants, know your rights!
Report abuse
If circle 33 were a considerate landlord then rather than just passing the buck they would set up a communal dish and pipe it to all the properties. It is probably related to the Olympics, but TBH it does look like an eyesore. It is common knowledge (except in this street obviously) that such dishes should not be sited at the front of properties.
Report abuse
It really is time to get the pitchforks out and start marching towards city hall!
Report abuse
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.