‘A workman fell through my ceiling’: Residents exhausted by ‘mismanaged’ estate regeneration

Residents have been left “anxious” and exhausted after almost three years of renovation plagued by problems on their estate.

Federica, who did not want to give her full name, was working from home last week when a workman crashed through the ceiling of her flat in Iveagh House, off Loughborough Road, Brixton.

The 39-year-old said: “I heard this really loud noise, then a whole portion of my ceiling came down with one of the workers.

“He was hanging on to a wooden beam with his legs hanging into the flat.

“I was in shock and terrified. I could have got really hurt and so could he.”

Frederica said this was just one case in a series of problems that have marred the renovation works on the 116-flat estate since they began in 2023.

Affordable housing company Guinness Partnership, which runs Iveagh House, is currently carrying out £12million of improvement works including the installation of a new heating system, pipework to bathrooms and improving ventilation.

Frederica said: “Since the work started things have been fixed – partial repairs. But it’s just been one problem after another. 

“We’ve had flooding, damp, mould, noise, no access to our outside space. It’s overwhelming and completely unsafe. 

“If you can’t feel safe in your own home, it’s very stressful.”

Residents said there was no consultation before renovations began in 2023, and many have not been moved out of the properties whilst works take place.

A spokesman from Guinness Partnership said the works will make the building “a better and safer place to live”.

According to the partnership, 39 residents have been permanently moved and 10 offered temporary homes, prioritised on need.

Niall Whatley, chairman of the Iveagh House tenants association, said: “It’s being completely mismanaged.

“Because they didn’t decamp us, tenants are having to take a week off work – often at short notice – for work to be done.

“But when they’re finished it’s not done to a high standard. Kitchen sinks have been blowing back, spraying and flooding flats with drain water.”

A Guinness spokesman said: “A small number of residents have experienced drainage problems from their kitchen, and we have responded to issues quickly and carried out appropriate repairs.”

Joy Macintosh, 58, who has lived in the estate since 1996, said she has been left “frustrated” and “anxious” by two years of work on the building.

She said: “My mother passed away in October. Guinness was hastling me about getting into my flat to do repairs and I said I was grieving and I didn’t want them in there.

“They have been working on this building for two years, they had so much time but keep messing up.”

When accidents do occur, residents feel “left in limbo” by Guinness.

Federica said: “The hole in the ceiling was boarded up and plastered over but it hasn’t been properly fixed.

“A housing officer said they would move us into a hotel nearby but then hours later retracted the offer.

“Now we’re left here not knowing what to do. They were meant to refurbish our kitchen and bathroom and now they have to do the ceiling. It will be going on forever.”

A spokesperson from The Guinness Partnership said: “The hole was repaired within hours of it being reported, so there was no need to move the resident temporarily from her flat. A final coat of plaster will be applied, as agreed with the resident.”

Pictured top: Niall Whatley, chair of the Iveagh House tenants association, outside Iveagh House in Brixton (Picture: Niall Whatley)