RESIDENTS are calling for a lift to be installed in a council block – as elderly, disabled, and people with young children are left struggling to reach their third-floor flats.

People who live in Hume Court in Hawes Street have to walk up four flights of stairs, which many cannot manage, and residents think it is high time for the council to listen to their concerns and install a lift to facilitate access.

Elderly and disabled residents often stay in their flats for days on end, and some families with young children are forced to leave their prams in the car as they are too heavy to carry up the stairs.

Residents also have problems with deliveries, which often cannot be delivered without a lift.

“If the council can’t respond to urgent community welfare issues like this, what is its role?” said Azad Miah, who started a petition which has so far garnered over 30 signatures.

Mr Miah has lived in the block all his life, and has raised a family there, but the council has not been responsive.

When he initially contacted them to raise the issue, the council recommended that he applied to change house.

“I don’t want to move out of this area, we love it here. Together with our neighbours, we’ve been literally growing up here together,” said Mr Miah.

In correspondence seen by the Tribune, Islington Council told Mr Miah: “It is not council policy to install lifts in communal areas purely due to individual resident mobility needs, and the installation of a lift would be a major capital project.”

When Mr Miah responded that this was affecting the community and was not limited to individual needs, the council did not respond.

Residents also told the Tribune that a children’s play area has been derelict for several years, with a collapsing wall to the neighbouring property propped up by wooden struts.

Six phone masts have also been installed on the roof of the building, which one resident, who wished to remain anonymous, described as “hideous”.

“Money should be spent on the people who live in the block with the ugly masts on the top,” she said.

“I would hate to live under one of the flats directly under them. They say they don’t do any harm, but you never know.

“Years ago, when the council put the masts on the roof, we were told that some money would also be spent on the flats. Now, the council are telling us that there is no money for the lift, but where is all the money going to?”

Mr Miah said he will be writing to the council with the petition later this week, to urge them to install a lift in the place where the unused rubbish chutes are.

“We’re just asking for a basic necessity for us,” he said.

“We’re not asking for luxuries. It’s 2025 and something needs to happen.”

An Islington Council spokesperson said: “We are concerned to hear that there are residents with mobility issues who are having difficulty accessing their homes. We generally do not install lifts in low-rise buildings – the work is expensive, disruptive, and often not needed – but we are happy to have a conversation with residents to hear more about their concerns.”

The spokesperson added: “All the money raised from phone masts on council buildings is spent on maintaining council homes.”