The scaffolding in Colebrooke Row

WHEN the scaffolding went up around them seven years ago, residents in a block of flats in Angel may have hoped for a swift job on their window replacements and a smooth return to normal.

This week, they told how the work still hasn’t started in Colebrooke Row and they’ve spent the best part of a decade covered up by the poles and platforms and living in homes starved of light.

The astonishing wait with the scaffolding clamped to their homes is the reason a banner went up last year reading: ‘Free the Colebrooke Six’.

It was an appeal to the Peabody housing providers to finally get on with the work om the windows and balconies.

Resident Abdul Salah, who has lived in the property since 2003, told the Tribune: “They’ve not done anything. They haven’t done any work for seven years. The scaffolding is stuck there, at the back and the front of the building We can’t see downstairs. We can’t see the cars. We can see nothing.”

He added: “They still put the rent up every year. It started at £300 a month ­– now it’s going up to £800 a month.”

Anna Hollister, who also lives in the Peabody flats, said she has the lights on “constantly” because the scaffolding makes her home so dark.

Ms Hollister added: “I want to move out of here and go somewhere near Southend, but nobody wants to swap because who wants scaffolding front and back?”

They said the scaffolding is also a security risk, and tenants living on the top floor have had to call the police for attempted break-ins.

Neighbours Kathy and Steve Bundred

Mr Salah added: “People are walking up the scaffolding. The police were here three times.Someone climbed up and tried to break the windows in my neighbour’s flat while she was sleeping at 8am. It’s not safe.”

The delays have led the residents to wonder why it all is taking so long and to believe Peabody would rather they all just moved out with the theory that they could then be sold off. When two flats on the middle floor became vacant, Peabody sold them on the private market.

The scaffolding was put up way back in 2018 but the first planning application for the works was only submitted to the council in July 2021.

Steve Bundred, who owns a home next to the Peabody flats, said: “The scaffolding is a nuisance and a trespass and Peabody are fully aware of that. It extends right across my property, and I pointed it out to them on several occasions.”

Mr Bundred, a former chief executive of Camden Council and the Audit Commission, said Peabody has been unresponsive to his emails and the scaffolding blocked his Sky TV satellite dish.

He said he had to pay £74 to move it so he could watch TV over the Christmas holidays.

“One of the very last things I did before I retired from the Audit Commission was to publish a report which is very critical of Peabody,” Mr Bundred said.

“They clearly want to divest themselves of these street properties that are expensive maintain and is what makes Islington an attractive place in which to live – the fact that you can walk down the street and you don’t know who lives in the properties, they might be owner occupied or social housing.”

The banner went up last October

He added: “I can’t get scaffolding outside my own house in order to maintain my own property. I would normally paint the outside of this property every three to five years. And it hasn’t been done for seven years now.”

His wife Kathy said it was “outrageous” that her neighbours have lived in the dark for so long.

She added: “By leaving people in the dark forever and ever and ever and as flats have become vacant, they have sold them off.

“The people who live there are very local and have lived here a very long time, and they should be able to live here without living in ridiculous conditions.”

Labour councillor Martin Klute said: “This is yet another example of Peabody’s casual neglect of their residents.

“They do not respond to emails from me or senior council officers, and have also ignored an enforcement notice served on them by planning officers.

“I, and many of my fellow councillors, are at a loss to know how to get Peabody to respect the needs of their residents and carry out repairs and maintenance in a timely manner.”

A spokesperson for Peabody said: “We sympathise with residents and share their frustrations over the length of time the scaffolding has been up.

“Our aim has always been to make the repairs as soon as possible but it has not been straightforward. The building is grade two listed and sits within a conservation area, meaning any changes must be made in conjunction with English Heritage and with planning permission from the council.

“The work also requires the agreement of everyone who owns a home in the building. This has all taken longer than we would have liked and we’re very sorry.

“We’re aiming to do the work as soon as possible. Meanwhile, we’ll continue to consult with residents and are keen to resolve any outstanding issues they may have.”

Peabody’s latest planning application was approved by the council in December 2023.