Caversham Road tenants in scaffolding cage hit by break-ins
Published: 9th December, 2010
by RICHARD OSLEY
HOMES have been left covered in a cage of scaffolding and blue netting for nearly a year after the council’s much-maligned repairs programme was hit by delays.
Tenants living in street properties in Caversham Road, Kentish Town, were told the scaffolding would be bolted onto their homes for just a couple of months in February. It has yet to come down.
Residents said their homes had been left gloomy by the shadows in summer and time was running out for the council to meet pledges to bring down the metalwork before Christmas.
Worse still, the road has been hit by break-ins while the scaffolding has been up.
Minutes of the Kentish Town District Management Committee, a group that helps tenants discuss issues with the council, said: “They [members] were assured that the length of time the scaffolding was left standing incurred no additional cost to the council as this was set against the overall cost of the project. Officers were aware that burglaries had occurred and were actively pursuing this issue in consultation with the police.”
The project to replace window fittings and install kitchens and bathrooms was ordered under the Decent Homes programme, a scheme that has been beset with complaints.
Camden is trying to bring all of its council homes up to scratch on limited resources.
When the New Journal spoke to residents in the street, several said they felt as if they had been living in a building site for nearly the entire year.
“Our lives have been put on hold,” said one. “I haven’t been able to see out of my front window since summer.”
One couple has not returned home since having a baby in the summer because of the constant disruption.
Petra Dando, from the Camden Association of Street Properties, whose members live in houses and flats not on designated estates, said: “Camden Council needs to have in place stringent protocols around the use, cost and management of scaffolding in all its major and smaller works schemes.”
She added: “One of our members, an elderly housebound tenant, described having to look out of her window at blue netting for almost a year – the view from her window is pretty much most of the contact this woman has with the outside world.”
A council press official said: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused to residents. Many of the properties at Caversham Road were in a poor state of external repair and the works being carried out are quite extensive. The main causes of the delay are down to ensuring the work is completed to a high standard and more recently the colder weather.”