SOCIAL housing tenants from across north London came together last night to hand Barnet a set of petitions signed by over 200,000 people demanding the council save their homes.

Sweets Way and West Hendon estate residents marched to Barnet Council’s annual general meeting to protest at the Conservative borough’s decision to sell their homes off to private developers.

Residents of all ages spoke out against what they called “ultra-Tory” housing policies pushed through by council leader Richard Cornelius.

Mother of four Juliette Anzie, who was kicked out of her home of four years on Sweets Way, said: “We’ve come here today to ask Richard Cornelius to protect families of Barnet who are wrongfully being evicted from their homes.

“This isn’t just about one housing estate, these are families from one area of the borough to the next, being affected.

“Our petitions together add up to more than 200,000 signers who are calling for social housing not social cleansing in Barnet.”

As previously reported in the Star, the West Hendon estate was bought up by Barret Homes and is to be transformed into 2,000 new luxury flats as part of a regeneration scheme.

In their petition Our West Hendon community group said they “fear the development is going to force many people from our community out of the estate and possibly out of London.”

The 430 families who currently reside on the estate have been told to vacate their homes by next month.

A two-month-long sit-in at one of the Sweets Way houses by campaigners has now become the longest-running housing occupation in London.