Flagship modern housing development in need or urgent repairs, tenants say
Glass panels falling in light winds, say tenants
Friday, 18th August 2023 — By Dan Carrier
Gary Power on his balcony
GLASS panelling on high-storey balconies could be a threat to life, tenants in a flagship council development have claimed.
Residents in Wrotham Road, Agar Grove, say heavy-duty, three-metre high balcony dividers have swung off fittings in light winds and crashed to the floor.
Now they want urgent safety checks to be carried out on every balcony on the estate.
Gary Power said: “I had the radio on and suddenly there was this huge noise. I looked out and saw the second glass screen wobbling and shaking and then come down.
“It was fortunate it fell the way it did – it easily could have killed some-one if it had gone a few inches the other way.
“It was very worrying – a complete shock.”
Mr Power, a former bank clerk, grew up in Wrotham Road and his family moved into the original Agar Grove estate in 1966.
In 2018, he moved into a newly developed building.
But the dream move has been beset by problems with the building.
Mr Power said: “When the screens fell and shattered, I called the council and they said they would send some one round.
“Nothing happened. Three months later I went to the Town Hall in person.
They made an excuse – and it is still not fixed. They should be doing safety checks on all the other balconies.
My neighbours are concerned enough to have put up their own scaffolding to make sure more panels don’t come down.”
The rebuild of the Agar Grove estate has been hailed as one of the council’s flagship housing projects under the Community Investment Programme (CIP).
It has seen the Town Hall sell off land and seek partners to redevelop sites they own to improve the quality of council homes and provide new afford- able housing.
Other teething problems have raised questions over how much scrutiny contractors were under before the project was signed off, said Mr Power.
He said: “On my first day, I got locked in the bathroom and had to kick my way through the door to get out. That still has not been fixed and I haven’t been able to close my bathroom door since.
“Temperature control is another problem. It is 30 degrees at night in here – I have not had to put the radiator on once in four years.”
He added: “It feels like they gave us the keys and then washed their hands of us.”
Neighbours have reported similar issues and the New Journal reported earlier this year on an elderly woman in the modern block who had to be moved out because of rampant mould and damp.
A Camden Council spokesperson said: “We are very sorry for the issue that this resident has experienced with the balcony privacy screen located between their property and their neighbour’s – this does not meet the high-quality standard that we expect in our newly built homes and we are working to rectify this as quickly as possible.
“Our repairs team have visited the property, ensured that the balcony area remains safe, and are arranging for our building contractor to investigate and complete the repair. We would like to thank the resident for their patience during this process and we will keep in regular communication with them until the job is done.”
