Members of Finsbury Estate tenants and residents association

RESIDENTS on a Clerkenwell estate told councillors they feel they are at “breaking point”, in a meeting about their living conditions.

Members of the tenants and residents association (TRA) for Finsbury Estate met this week with Clerkenwell councillors Ruth Hayes and Giulio Ferrini as well as tenancy and housing officers from the council.

In April, the Tribune reported on block-wide issues that were causing distress for the tenants, including a broken lift and general disrepair across flats.

At the fiery meeting, tenants demanded accountability and compensation from the council for the broken lift, which has now been out of service for four months, having a significant impact on disabled residents within the block.

A recurrent theme for many was that they felt their requests and communication with council housing officers had “disappeared into the ether”.

The residents said that anti-social and threatening behaviour from other people on the estate was leading them to feel unsafe within their homes. Multiple people stressed they have made calls to the police and council about certain residents suffering from acute mental health crises and displaying threatening behaviour, but have been unsuccessful in their attempts to arrange more appropriate housing.

They also told of a suicide that took place earlier this year on the estate, which has left some traumatised and feeling “trapped” in their accommodation.

Finsbury Estate in Clerkenwell

Sue Sullivan, a member of the TRA, said that emotions were “running high” at the meeting with councillors because their issues had been ongoing for “so many months”.

“The council’s failures have a real impact on the lives and health and safety of residents. We are fed up of fighting for basics services that other people take for granted,” she said.

“We are just feeling very frustrated by the lack of action from Islington Council to keep the residents of Finsbury Estate safe and to provide basic services.”

In response to claims from the tenants that their complaints and frustrations were falling on deaf ears, Green councillor Giulio Ferrini said: “The key message for us is we are sorry, it’s clear that they have been let down and we want to apologise for that.

“We are in one of the richest countries in the world with resources that can be deployed in different ways. We were hoping the Labour government would reverse decades of austerity but it hasn’t happened.

“We are fighting against austerity, and for more resources for funding in council housing – most councillors across the political spectrum are in favour of that, and so maybe it is a matter of demanding this with a bit more force.”

Labour councillor Ruth Hayes, who is deputy leader of the council and has represented Clerkenwell since 2022, said that she was “very concerned” about the ongoing issues at the Finsbury Estate.

She said: “We want to improve wherever residents feel our support has fallen short, and I will do everything in my power to ensure that this doesn’t happen again, and that residents get the services they need. I want to make sure that all our residents are living in safe, well-maintained housing.
“Myself and colleagues have been trying to work with the TRA and the council to tackle the complex problems across the estate. My former fellow councillor Ben Mackmurdie and I had been working hard with residents, the TRA committee and the council to deliver a number of improvements and to ensure proper management, and I aim to continue this hard work.

“We are working to deal with the most urgent issues first, like the broken lifts, but understand that this has taken far longer than we would have liked, and that some issues have been missed.”

Cllr Hayes added: “In my most recent meeting with the Finsbury TRA, it was clear that residents would like more engagement from every level of the council and this is what we as councillors will work with officers to deliver.

“We thank residents for their commitment to their community and I hope we will be able to agree a timetable for improvements shortly.”