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Offenders employed to paint estate on the cheap
• WE have been told of a project on the Maiden Lane estate where young offenders are being used to paint the exterior of buildings.
Some parts of that estate have not been touched by a paint brush for 30 years so it is a real eyesore. The result of this neglect is that any painting should involve a proper job of stripping all loose paint, rubbing down and applying a masonry sealer before painting.
We have no confidence that untrained kids are capable of undertaking this task properly.
This is supposed to be approved by the estate management board, which is not functioning, and as a result is to be wound up shortly.
The job involves climbing and begs the question: what if any safety training have these young people had?
This task requires properly trained tradesmen. It’s not some cowboy job where they will slosh paint over three generations of spiders. The tenants have not been consulted about this and feel it is a cheap money-saving exercise which will cost more in putting the job right in the long run.
Ian McDeson
Branch Secretary
Camden UCATT
Harmood Street, NW1
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