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Great-gran Eleanor Cooper and neighbours who want the satellite dish ban lifted |
Estate satellite dish ban blacks out TV football
Great-gran misses big match as conservationists crack down
A GREAT-grandmother cannot watch her beloved football on TV because “unsightly” satellite dishes have been banned at her listed estate in Finsbury.
Eleanor Cooper, a Chelsea fan, has hundreds of residents rallying around her campaign for a dish on the Spa Green estate, opposite Sadler’s Wells theatre.
Satellite dishes have been banned from the estate because they would “detract” from its 1950s design. Spa Green was the work of modernist architect Berthold Lubetkin, famous for London’s Zoo’s penguin pool and Finsbury Health Centre.
Residents who have installed their own satellite dishes on balconies have had to hurriedly take them down on the orders of conservation officers or face a £20,000 fine or even a six-month prison sentence.
Four years ago, Islington’s housing agency Homes for Islington (HfI) promised residents that a communal satellite dish could be discreetly installed on the roof. But that has not happened.
Ms Cooper said: “Lots of people want satellite TV but can’t have it. I thought we were all supposed to be going digital. It is very unfair.
“When my children, grandchildren and great-grand children visit they often want to watch football. I have to tell them we can’t get it.”
Housing manager Thomas Cooper said the lack of satellite TV was a problem for many foreign-born residents who want contact with their country of birth.
He added: “I have petitions in Swahili, Urdu, Turkish and Punjabi. I have doctors’ letters on behalf of residents who don’t speak English and are suffering from isolation and depression from not being able to connect with the outside world in their own language.”
Residents Mohammed Kiani, 62, and his wife Azizia like to keep in touch with news in Pakistan, their homeland. Mr Kiani said: “If it is just a matter of putting up one community dish for everyone I don’t understand what the difficulty is.”
Betty Knight, chairwoman of Spa Green Residents’ Association, said that a few years ago, prior to a refurbishment, the council appeared to turn a blind eye to those who had installed satellite dishes on their balconies.
“Today it is completely against the rules,” she added. “And cable TV can’t be installed here either for various environmental reasons.”
HfI has a £4.5million programme to roll out Sky satellite TV on all its estates in time for the switch-over from analogue to digital in 2012.
Not everyone, however, wants the service, although only leaseholders can opt out.
Tenants, unless they are on benefits, have to pay £12 a year and a one-off £75 installation charge whether they want Sky or not.
Many have complained that there was “no consultation” and argue that satellite TV is unnecessary – unless they watch football or foreign programmes – as they are able to receive good enough signals for their own digital boxes.
Justine Gordon Smith, who lives in Ilex House, Crouch Hill, Stroud Green, is concerned that satellite cabling has ruined her view from the 16th floor.
She complained that there was no consultation about where the cables for the service would go, or how sensitive the siting of the installation would be.
“So far, no statistical evidence has been gathered as to how many estates are happy or disappointed with this work,” she added.
“I am outraged that my wonderful view has been ruined. If they do this borough-wide, potentially they could devalue the housing stock by millions and leave many leaseholders with depreciated value and difficulty selling their flat on should they wish to do so.”
Homes for Islington said they are looking at the issue of installing a communal satellite dish for the estate.
A spokesperson said: “Subject to planning conditions, it should be installed at some time in the future.” |
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