Cleaning up for GLA VIPs - Improve our homes!

Submitted by Anon on 17 June, 2004 - 5:34

At the end of last month residents of run-down Hackney estate Marcon Court awoke to find their estate getting a really decent clean-up. Could it be that Hackney Council had finally listened to our demands?

No. The truth was that we were due a visit from some people from Ken Livingstone's office.

The Council has: removed graffiti; jet-cleaned the walls, roadway and paths; deployed extra road sweepers; deep-cleaned the urine-soaked walls on the ground floor; had lift engineers attend; mowed the estate's lawns for the first time this year; and even sent a team to clean up the roof.

Residents were furious that the Council could ignore their unpleasant living conditions for so long, but jump to attention for a few 'VIPs'. We are angry and offended that Hackney Council feels that a GLA visit merits a big clean-up job, but residents' day-to-day lives do not. So we hung a banner over the estate walkway, attracting attention - and support - from hundreds of passers-by on one of Hackney's busiest roads. We collected residents' signatures on a letter to the Mayor, and to our GLA representative.

We understand that the purpose of the GLA's visit was to assess transport facilities in this area.

Hackney Council has carried out no serious repair or maintenance work on Marcon Court for more than twenty years. As a result, residents have to live with: ill-fitting windows; lifts that frequently break down; crumbling concrete on the walls and walkways; inadequate lighting; a dirty environment; and general disrepair.

Hackney Council claims to be carrying out an 'options appraisal' to decide the future of the estate, and is considering demolishing and/or privatising Marcon Court. Our Tenants' and Residents' Association does not want this to happen - instead, we want Hackney Council to improve our homes.

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