Finsbury Estate residents who say they feel neglected and ignored by the council: Andy Socratous, Sarah Nash, Gary Bendle, Prudence Kahawa, Alison Proderick and Richard Latham

COUNCIL tenants in a Clerkenwell housing estate say they are living in “squalor” due to an “unacceptable” lack of care and attention from the Town Hall.

Residents across the Finsbury Estate told the Tribune that they feel neglected and ignored by the council, as long-lasting issues across their block go unaddressed for months on end.

In the latest incident, residents were informed that a broken lift that has been out of order since February won’t be fixed until mid June, at the earliest. The council told them this was to wait for a part to be delivered from ­China, despite the lifts being refurbished just 10 years ago. The lift is the only one in the block.

Sarah Nash, a member of the tenants and residents association (TRA) who has lived in the block since 1989, said that the broken lift is just the latest incident in a string of issues across the estate that has left residents feeling that the council “do not care about them”.

She said she has seen the level of care from the council go “downhill” since she first moved in.

Ms Nash said that earlier this year a sewage pipe behind a cupboard in her 17th-floor flat ruptured, causing foul waste to drip into her flat – a problem that wasn’t fixed for four weeks.

She told the Tribune: “I had sewage from other people’s toilets coming into my flat for weeks, the council told me it wasn’t an emergency. So I had to fight them on that, like always, to get them to stop it. The problem is that they don’t fix anything, and they don’t monitor anything.

“And I know local authorities often don’t have a lot of funding. But there’s a big, big issue on the way they spend their money. A lot of consultancy fees and not enough on housing.

“And now with the lift. We’re at the end of our tether with it. They have an emergency fund. Why aren’t they using that to buy the missing part? Why do we have to wait weeks for this to be sorted? When we report these consistent issues, we hear nothing back.”

The Finsbury Estate was built in 1968 as part of Britain’s post-war social housing boom, but the current tenants say that they feel left behind as the housing landscape of London has changed.

Ms Nash said: “It feels like there’s two tiers of living around here. This area has become such an affluent area, completely gentrified, yet we’re living in squalor here. If we were renting privately, there would be constant checks on safety issues in the block every six months. But they the council don’t do their due diligence – it’s just completely unacceptable.”

Alison Proderick, who has COPD and osteo­arthritis and uses a mobility scooter, said there had been significant knock-on effects for residents on the estate such as overcrowding and queuing to use the only working lift.

She said: “At the very least, temporary accommodation or housing should be offered to elderly or disabled residents who are completely affected by this. Or even compensated.

“We get told, ‘If you need support, call this number’. But they never answer. They outsource contractors to come and sort out any issues we have in the flat, and nine times out 10 they turn up and just go, ‘Huh?’”

An Islington Council spokesperson said it had plans to improve the estate and had already committed £9.3million to upgrades that will make the high-rise blocks “safer and more pleasant”.

They added: “Surveys on other parts of the estate are due to take place later this year, while in 2024 we worked with the TRA to agree £350,000 on upgrades to accessibility, landscaping, recycling and storage.

“We’re sorry for any distress and inconvenience caused by the temporary closure of one of Michael Cliffe House’s four lifts while a replacement motor is built to order. Meanwhile, our tenancy team are on hand to offer support to residents, including offering temporary accommodation, if they are significantly affected.

“We are aware of specific issues concerning a tenant and have ensured they are receiving the appropriate professional support. The deputy area manager now has weekly catch-ups with two nominated TRA members to promptly identify and address any issues that arise, and none have so far been reported.”