Rumours of closures

Published: 24 September, 2010

• AT last Monday’s meeting of Lyon Street area housing panel, I felt obliged to ask a senior member of Homes for Islington (HfI) to confirm the proposed date for closing Lyon Street council office, and probably one other. 

The answer was a very non-committal “I am not aware of such a proposal.” But he did seem to be fully aware of the rumour which has been rapidly gathering strength over the last few weeks among council and HfI staff and residents.

Since the council is desperately in need of cash to support its “new-build” programme I don’t think it will be an unsubstantiated rumour for very much longer. 

The prospects of losing another two offices to HfI/Islington Council efficiency programmes will come as no surprise to most tenants, since they will no doubt remember that barely a decade ago they were extremely well serviced with 24 council offices, 20 of which have since disappeared in order to provide us with an improved service.

At the present rate of closures tenants will shortly be serviced by probably one central office (and here I am speculating) based in the region of Highbury Corner.

Such a move will not just provide the council with valuable land to sell or build on, but also reduce its considerable wage bill substantially, and as an added bonus dispose of the extremely problematic tenants who form the voluntary members of the area housing panels.

Whatever happened to the government’s recent proposals for tenant empowerment and co-regulation?
Dr BS Potter
Chairman, Federation of Islington Tenants’ Associations, Islington Leaseholders’ Association

• I LIVE on the Harry Weston estate, off Caledonian Road, which is made up of tenants and leaseholders. In the past our management and maintenance have been carried out by our committee, which has improved our quality of life greatly.  

Some of our achievements have been to install bathrooms, kitchens, double-glazing, security doors, video intercoms. Our estate is covered by CCTV cameras.  

We have been operating this system for 30 years and have saved ratepayers hundreds of thousands of pounds by self-management. This has been brought to an abrupt end by HfI.

Since HfI has become the management agent for Islington Council we have been forced to use contractors of its choice. The work is often treble the cost of local contractors. Many leaseholders have been put into poverty by this overpricing and bad-quality workmanship.

Bring back the most important part of our lives, namely our homes, to the many self-help groups or voluntary organisations such as the Federation of Islington Tenants’ Associations and Islington Leaseholders’ Association.
PJ Leamy
Address supplied