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Repairs cock-ups bound to happen
Housing chief’s admission to tenants
ONE of the Town Hall’s most senior civil servants has admitted some mistakes are likely in a major repairs programme set to cover nearly all of Camden’s council homes.
Phillip Colligan, the deputy housing director, appealed for patience after being left fielding a barrage of complaints about Camden’s Decent Homes work, which kicked off last month.
He told a meeting with tenants on Monday: “We always said we would make mistakes at the start of this. Where contractors have cocked things up, I want operatives to apologise and to go round with a bunch of flowers.”
Mr Colligan was told that residents felt like “guinea pigs” after being picked for the first stages of the project, which is set to run for five years and see repair work in 350 homes every single day.
Initial work has involved repairs taking place in estates in Kentish Town and Kilburn, and is supposed to bring properties up to nationally recognised standards with rewiring and refurbished kitchens and bathrooms.
But the Camden Federation of Residents and Tenants, which called Monday’s meeting in Camden Town, raised the alarm after hearing claims that some of the work has had to be done twice.
They have also learned of tenants being told that mixer-tap sinks and more than three rows of tiling in their new bathrooms are too expensive to be installed.
John Rolfe, chairman of the Hilgrove Tenants Association in Kilburn, said: “The reality of the situation is that people are having to live with archaic bathrooms for the next 30 years. It makes no sense to do work, rip it out and then having to do it again.”
Charlie Hedges, chairman of the Hampstead District Management Committee, added: “My mother was all excited about what she was going to get in her kitchen but when they were put in, the right-hand side of the cupboard opened the wrong way.”
Other residents said they were impressed with the work that had taken place in their flats.
Meric Apak, chairman of the Camden Fed, said: “This is a major project and it is up to Camden to get it right. There needs to be consistency across the borough.”
Mr Colligan said Camden was short on funds due to a lack of investment from government. The council has raised money for the programme by selling empty properties. Last week it was revealed that they were also considering renting out council homes on the private market, although Conservatives in the Lib Dem and Tory coalition were yesterday said to be challenging that policy.
The lack of funds, Mr Colligan said, meant the council was “repairing not replacing” fittings, adding: “It is a case of having to cut your cloth with what you’ve got.”
“The later stages will be quicker and easier because we will have this knowledge,” he said. |
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YOUR COMMENTS:
Dear Camden Journal,Re: Housing repairs cock-ups article.In January 2009 I moved into a council flat in the Abbey Road area. It looks nice to look at but it is contaminated with all sorts of indoor pollution due to badly repair work wchich is affecting my health. The concrete floor and some of the plaster on the walls are decayed damaged and porous. the water is heavy and tastes bitter. the pipes are green with corrosion. the temperature of the heating system is too high and out of my control. the indoor pollution is so strong I am intoxicated. Since moving in I have suffered ill health including heart failure and now i am developing an ulcer in my stomach from consuming contaminated water from the taps. There is so many things wrong with the indoor structure of this place that its behyond me to carry out the repairs. I am tired of being sick and unable to sleep. Mr Phillip Colligan please help!
Maria Maio |
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