Lynne Featherstone

Concern is growing for the safety of local residents living in a housing block in Alexandra ward after Haringey Council and Homes for Haringey failed to take action to improve security despite many incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour over the past year.

Tenants and leaseholders in Bolster Grove have been forced to put up with constant vandalism and intimidation as local vandals use the main stairwell leading to residents’ homes as a hang out. Recent visits to Bolster Grove have revealed many incidents including the windows of the main entry door have been broken, windows in the stairwell forced open, window frames burned, fires being started as well as the area being regularly strewn with dropped food, litter and used condoms.

However, since the most recent incident on 11th October 2009, Homes for Haringey has not repaired the main entry door, leaving smashed glass in place and homes unsecured.

Local Liberal Democrats have continued to raise the issue, along with the need for door entry systems, with Homes for Haringey bosses and even brought the issue to the attention of Cllr John Bevan, Labour’s Cabinet member for Housing, at the last Full Council meeting on 19^th October 2009. Despite this, no action has been taken by Haringey Council.

Cllr Nigel Scott   (Alexandra ward), who has alerted the local safer neighbourhood team and visits the area regularly, comments:

“It is unacceptable that after months of incidents including fires, antisocial behaviour and damage to property, residents of Bolster Grove still do not have an idea when their homes will be made safe.

“Some residents are afraid to leave their homes unoccupied whilst the entrance door is broken. It needs to made safe now and the Council should not wait until a more serious incident occurs before they take action.”

Lynne Featherstone MP adds:

“Local residents should feel safe in their own homes. Yet the lack of action by Haringey Council at Bolster Grove only leaves people feeling harassed and their homes unsecured.”

Haringey Council will now investigate the feasibility of an ‘opt out’ from the installation of new digital aerials scheme for local leaseholders. The success for the campaign led by leaseholder groups and Liberal Democrats came after a special meeting of Haringey Council’s ‘watchdog’ committee last week (1st October 2009) to hear concerns raised by Liberal Democrats.

The committee agreed that Homes for Haringey should report back on the possibility of an opt-out for leaseholders who do not want the new aerial system installed. Since Haringey Council started the scheme, many leaseholders have paid more than £1,000 for installation.

Liberal Democrats have welcomed the feasibility report but have said that they will not stop the campaign to get a better deal for local leaseholders and will continue to closely scrutinise the financial management of the Decent Homes project, which has come under increasing criticism.

Cllr Richard Wilson, who presented the Liberal Democrat ‘call-in’ last week, comments:

“Whilst we welcome this small step in the right direction it was disappointing that the Labour councillors, once again, rubberstamped this dubious cabinet decision.

“The Decent Homes programme and budget continues to be out of control. Agreed standards of work have been exceeded without finance in place, leaseholders have been ignored, and consultation has been non-existent.”

David Winskill, Liberal Democrat lead on the Overview and Scrutiny committee, adds:

“I was shocked at the lack of understanding of how this £198 million scheme has changed so much. Nobody seemed to know how Homes for Haringey had veered away from the specifications agreed by Haringey Council in 2005 and, more worryingly, nobody seemed to grasp that this may have an effect on the standard or amount of homes that will be renovated under Decent Homes.”

Lynne Featherstone MP, adds:

“The way in which leaseholders have been treated is a symptom of the failure by Haringey Council to get value for money from this project. I’m glad efforts from local leaseholders and my Liberal Democrat colleagues are making progress, but we will not stop there.”

Note: Local Liberal Democrats have set up a petition at http://campaigns.libdems.org.uk/aerialscampaign

Homes for Haringey (Haringey Council’s arms length management organisation for council houses) have just admitted to my Lib Dem colleague, Cllr Monica Whyte, that residents of Stokely Court (sheltered accommodation for the elderly and disabled) will have to wait yet another year before their homes will be redecorated – four years after the Council promised that they would be renovated and ten years since they were last redecorated.

Monica Whyte has written urgently to the Chief Executive of Homes for Haringey to explain why Stokely Court has been neglected and how many other sheltered accommodation homes have been missed due to the “slippage” of the Internal Decoration Programme for Elderly and Disabled Tenants.

Monica is on the rampage – quite rightly!

If anyone knows of any more instances where Haringey Council has failed to meet its promised obligations on redecoration, repair or renewal – please let me know.