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The ups and downs of scaffolding
• JUST over four months ago, contractors to Camden Council erected scaffold at the rear of my flat to enable repairs to my upstairs neighbour’s flat.
The scaffold remains there today, the relatively minor repairs not having been completed. Similar situations have occurred numerous times in the 15 years I have been a council tenant, and no doubt many others have experienced the same.
I have at last gained some insight into why these outrageous and entirely unnecessary circumstances are allowed to develop. After my complaint to Councillor Ralph Scott in June, and a request for details of scaffold hire costs, a council quality support officer wrote to me explaining the scaffold hire terms. The following is a quote from his letter dated June 12. “There is no additional cost in keeping the scaffold up. Each job requiring scaffold has a two-week rental cost included in the job. In some cases the scaffold is struck earlier and in some cases it remains in place longer, so it is treated as a ‘swings and roundabouts’ situation with no additional costs incurred when scaffold remains in place for longer than two weeks.”
Well at least that’s clear. The council is under no obligation to complete a scaffold-enabled repair within a set time frame, regardless of any related issues affecting those stuck in the middle. These issues include security concerns, loss of light and views, partial obstruction of access to (and enjoyment of) back patio and garden. Oh, and a very determined squirrel that is stripping our olive tree of branches in order to build a nest somewhere near the top of the scaffold.
The quality support officer also offered to supply an update, but none has yet been received, and the sum result of my numerous calls and emails to the repairs team, surveyors, estate managers and indeed Cllr Scott, has been conflicting stories, empty promises and good old-fashioned passing the buck. It appears that no one is prepared to take direct responsibility for this appalling state of affairs, and that tenants are expected to put up with months of inconvenience.
I suggest an improvement to the system. Where repair work is likely to require the erection of a scaffold, a specific programme of work needs to be agreed in writing in advance between tenant and council.
One of the conditions of a Camden tenancy is that tenants have the right to “quiet enjoyment of your home during your tenancy”. It is a sad reflection that it is sometimes more convenient to ignore this most basic of rights.
DAVID PRICE
Leighton Crescent, NW5
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