Council slams housing association-run estate that is a ‘magnet for vermin’
By Tara O’Connor, Local Democracy Reporter
Constant dripping pipes and people “using drugs on families’ doorsteps” are commonplace for residents on estates in Merton, a councillor has claimed.
Clarion, which manages Merton council’s housing stock, was given a grilling on shoddy repairs last night.
Councllior Dan Johnston, who grew up on a Clarion estate, said problems with delays in repairs and consistent leaks have been going on for years.
The Labour councillor said: “I know first hand what it’s like to live on a Clarion-run estate where the communal corridors are punctuated by the drip, drip of pipes that are always leaking where disused features are left to fester and become a magnet for vermin.
“Communal security doors on Sadler Close have not been fixed for years. You have people entering these properties and using it for shelter, you have drug users using drugs on families’ doorsteps, and this has been going on for years.”
He said delays taking more than a year to fix is “typical” and accused Clarion of “talking the talk but not walking the walk”.
Cllr Johnston added: “When residents think of Clarion they think of shoddy service and shoddy repairs.”
Director of housing at Clarion, Vicky Bonner, admitted that there were problems, particularly on Sadler Close in Mitcham.
She said: “You’re absolutely right, there are endemic leaks on Sadler Close. It is a dreadful build. It is the reality that you’ve got pipes set within the concrete so it is incredibly difficult to find leaks. It is not the standard of housing we would want at all.
“That is why we are having a look at Sadler Close and what we need to do in the future. Whether it is a regeneration thing or whether we need to do something more significant.
“We have committed to come back by December to talk to you about what we need to do on that estate.
“It is a hugely difficult estate to repair and manage. We accept that the conditions those residents are living in isn’t what we would want.”
Pictured top: The Clarion-run Sadler Close estate in Mitcham (Picture: Google Street View)
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