New White City apartments plagued by grim cocktail of drugs, prostitutes and homeless sleepers

Residents living in a social housing block are calling on their provider to take action over ‘intolerable and deteriorating living conditions’.

Tenants at Acacia Apartments in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, said they regularly have to contend with a range of antisocial behaviour issues, from homeless people sleeping in their building to alleged prostitution and drug taking.

They have also suffered from problems with the block itself, including the entrance doors being broken and unable to close, and a major leak which flooded a carpeted corridor.

Leanna Edwards, 40, has complained to Southern Housing, the block’s provider, writing that the conditions make tenants feel ‘unsafe, uncomfortable, and deeply frustrated’.

Completed and opened to tenants in late 2022, Acacia Apartments is part of the White City Living estate by White City station. Developed by St James, a member of The Berkeley Group, it includes the construction of 2,500 homes as well as public spaces.

Trumpeting easy access to transport links and Imperial College London’s new 23-acre campus, the White City Living website lists prices for the flats ranging from £665,000 to £3.25 million.

When Ms Edwards first moved into Acacia Apartments, which is social housing, in 2023, she said things looked positive. She said. “You felt safe to leave your front door open. I would feel comfortable going outside all times of the day and night to have a cigarette out the front. Now I wouldn’t do that.”

Another resident, Christine, added: “It was clean. It was half empty see, so the doors were working, quiet.”

According to both women, it did not take long however for things to go wrong. Ms Edwards said there have been ongoing problems with antisocial behaviour, with people hanging around the stairwells and accosting tenants.

She further claimed there has been drug dealing and taking in the building, prostitution, and regular instances of homeless people sleeping in the stairwells and bin store.

“Southern Housing are apparently aware of everything, and have done nothing. Absolutely nothing. They’ll say ‘oh we’re aware of the situation, we’re in the process of sorting it out’, and they haven’t done anything.”

Ms Edwards said there have also been problems with the building itself, including a major flood in a corridor in February which forced tenants to evacuate.

Ms Edwards said despite urging Southern Housing to carry out repairs, no one has come out to fix damage from the flooding.

Ms Edwards has filed a complaint with Southern Housing, saying: “The cumulative effect of these problems has created an environment in which we all feel unsafe, uncomfortable, and deeply frustrated. No one should be forced to live in such conditions, especially when we are paying through the nose for a social housing property.”

Ms Edwards said she is yet to receive a full response from Southern Housing.

A spokesman for Southern Housing said: “We’re currently working closely with our partners, including the police, local authority, and our legal team, to take appropriate action following reports of antisocial behaviour. We continue to encourage residents to report criminal-related activities directly to the police.

“The building’s managing agent, Rendall & Rittner, completed repairs following a burst pipe on February 17. We were unaware of the mould and light issues, but Rendall & Rittner will investigate further and complete any outstanding repairs.

“Our door maintenance contractor has previously fixed the communal doors after they were damaged by vandals. They fitted triple maglocks to make them more resistant to being forced open.”

A Met spokesman said: “Following frequent reports of antisocial behaviour, we now conduct daily patrols of the building and have seen a drop in crime rates as a result.

“The increased police presence will remain in place, as will our borough-wide partnership work, to ensure this is a lasting improvement.”

The Berkeley Group declined to comment.

Pictured top: Leanna Edwards, who moved into Acacia Apartments in early 2023 (Picture: Facundo Arrizabalaga)