Tenants’ champions

Published: 30 April, 2010

• THANK goodness for people like PJ Leamy (At last, someone has said that homes body must go, April 23) and John Worker (April 23) who still have the time and courage to complain about the plight of Islington tenants at the hands of Homes for Islington and the likes of Terry Stacy, who suggests that it operates in a democratic fashion.
Cllr Stacy says that “tenants voted for the arms’-length management organisation”. Well, in a democracy you can both vote in and out at the end of a specific term of office. Cllr Stacy failed to remind the meeting that tenants had to vote for the arms’-length management organisation or no money for repairs would be forthcoming. Mr Leamy and Mr Worker, keep on their heels, keep seeking proper democracy. 
JOHNNY WILLIAMS
Northchurch Road, N1

• AT last week’s Homes for Islington (HfI) board meeting, chief executive Eamon McGoldrick answered my question as to why bidding on major works in the borough was restricted to six companies by blaming EU rules and regulations.
Don’t think so, Eamon. It is HfI’s decision to package the work in parcels of £2million, thus cutting many of the highly regarded but small local companies out of the bidding process, that is the real reason.
He also said that restricting the number to six was done for “value and ease of administration”. Well, value for money is a joke considering all the tenant and leaseholder complaints about shoddy work and over-the-top prices and surely administration is the very thing HfI is there for. New contracts come into operation soon but unless the bidding is opened up to more local companies it will work no better than now – and now it just isn’t working.
TERRY COMER
Independent candidate, Canonbury Ward