Dear Nigel Tyrrell, Director of Environment, Lewisham...

Dear Nigel,

What is going on with your Recycling Team? They have not collected 9 13 of our 11 15 recycling bins on Crossfields Estate SE8 for two weeks.

We asked the Head of Estate Services at Lewisham Homes to find out. He had already been contacted by our caretakers but had not been informed by Recycling themselves.

He told us yesterday that "Lewisham have reported that the delay was apparently due to the bins being contaminated with non-recyclable waste and the volume of other recycling points across the Borough with the same issue". He was assured that the bins would be emptied first thing today. At close of play today, nine thirteen bins remain full to overflowing.

This begs the questions:

1. Why would Recycling promise to empty bins that they have previously refused to empty?
2. If the bins contain foodstuff, why has the issue not been referred to Refuse for collection?
3. Why did Recycling not inform Lewisham Homes (when they share the same depot)?
4. How did 9 13 out of 11 15 bins manage to become contaminated all at the same time?
5. How come people across the borough contaminated their bins all at the same time?

We have requested that Lewisham Homes work with Recycling to re-flyer our estate to remind residents of their responsibilities, with the focus on NOT including food in their recycling materials, rather than what they CAN put in.

However, it looks to us as if 'contamination' has been offered as an excuse for bad management. If Recycling had actually come out and found 9 13 bins contaminated, they should have put a sticker on each one indicating they would be picked up by Refuse. This was not done. It may be no co-incidence that the same thing occurred last year at roughly the same time – does the whole department just go on holiday at this time?

We hope you will able to get to the bottom of the problem as a matter of urgency, as all calls by residents and now other senior managers have met with no success. We know the Council are having to make some severe cuts, but this is one area that should not be allowed to fail.

Update 26 June: Bins were emptied the next day. Lewisham Homes is also now looking at working with the Council to get a leaflet out to residents.

Update 29 July: A leaflet went out to most residents on or around 24/25 July (printed by the Council's Environment team but distributed by Lewisham Homes caretakers), and Lewisham Homes' Head of Estate Services has promised to sort out improved communications between Recycling and Refuse, so that Refuse pick up when Recycling refuse (sorry!) to.

Ha'Penny Hatch tidy up

Back on 11th March, we reported the litter that had been building up on the grass verges either side of the Ha'Penny Hatch bridge. It wasn't easy since both borough's (Lewisham and Greenwich) online reporting tools would not recognise the existence of the Ha'Penny Hatch. The bridge does not have a postcode and the path does not have a name.

However we sent photos and awaited acknowledgement. Greenwich responded on 22nd March saying our report had been passed to their Cleansweep service for action.

We didn't hear from Lewisham until we sent the report again on 12th April, using a more direct method. At first, Lewisham's Clean Streets team had no idea where the Ha'Penny Hatch was nor whether it was their responsibility, but the litter was then cleared the same day.

But although Greenwich (who are responsible for the maintenance and operation of the bridge itself) had been the first to respond, they still haven't cleared the path on their side of the Creek.

As for the homeless people who have been sleeping in the spaces under the bridge on the Greenwich side, well that's another story...

All weeds are wild flowers...

853 Blog reports that Greenwich council has sacked its green contractor for failing to deal with the weeds growing in the (soon-to-be) Royal Borough's pavements. We've got a fair few ourselves.

Whilst their team of cowboy lawnmowers have made fairly regular appearances, Glendales seem to be a bit short in the weeding and planting department.
 
We are told that the little squares of ground which were bizarrely concreted over recently (after the 6th June walkabout by Lewisham Homes management) are now being re-instated as a result of residents' complaints and possibly our Concrete Jungle post also on 1st July.* Hopefully the guerrilla planting that is taking place around the estate – in lieu of any maintenance and planting by Glendales – can now continue in these beds as well.

The new plants look great, as do the window boxes (since Crossfields Greenspaces' plant and soil giveaway on 16th July). However, be prepared to defend your window boxes when and if Lewisham Homes get round to implementing a Zero Tolerance policy to items outside flats in communal walkways.

CEO Andrew Potter told us on the recent walkabout that London's Fire Chief has ordered that all boroughs have the choice to either monitor and educate their residents about not leaving fire hazards in the walkways, or introduce a ban on all items. If the circumstances surrounding a fire were found to involve balcony obstructions, boroughs stand to face a hefty fine – therefore Mr Potter favoured a zero tolerance policy as his cheapest and safest option. He said he was aware that it would be a highly unpopular move, and the issue is to be debated by the board. The ban on outdoor items would include all flower pots and possibly even window boxes.

Caretaking Manager Mike Smith, attending last night's TRA meeting, said there are regular Fire Safety inspections of communal walkways, and levels of priority reached before action is taken. Serious obstructions result in a warning, and non-compliance results in the householder's belongings being removed and stored. (See May's post about the last half-arsed attempt to do this). The meeting argued that since there is already a process in place for monitoring Fire Safety obstructions, there was no need for the introduction of a zero tolerance policy.

We also argued that growing flowers, shrubs, herbs and vegetables on our balcony walkways contributed positively to both our own and our neighbours' mental health and well-being.

Here's some examples:

*Leaseholders: look out for being billed in 2012 for both concreting over and removal of concrete.

Lewisham Homes "Rubbish Removal" fuck up

Most tenants and residents got a letter through their door dated 15-04-2011. I've got one, but I can't honestly say that's when I got it. Anyway, it was about "Items left being stored on the communal walkway and landings and disposal of rubbish".

It was a rubbish letter about rubbish. It wasn't bullet-pointed so even half-educated folk like me couldn't read it properly. On further analysis the first two paragraphs are about not leaving 'washing machines, chest of draws bikes etc' on the balcony (fire risk) and paragraphs 3-5 are all about putting your rubbish in the chutes or bin chamber and not leaving it outside your door or in communal areas. All good reminders to some mindless folk, but who the hell's gonna read this?

The letter then quoted the rules n' regulations of our Tenancy Agreement, a note about not smoking in communal areas, and a number to call to dispose of 'washing machines ovens and fridges' (Environcall on 020 314 7171). Those seven paragraphs could've gone at the end after the sign off as Extra Important Info...

And then there was the threat:  "If residents do not remove the items stored in the communal areas in 14 days (underlined in bold) from the date of this letter or continue to dispose of their rubbish in the correct manner Tenancy Enforcement action may be taking [sic] against you" Yours sincerely Caretaking Services.

Well two weeks passed a week ago. Did they mean '14 working days excluding bank holidays'?...

We got news earlier that Frankham House were "Gestapoed" yesterday. We await a full report, but we heard Frankham residents had their balconies completely cleared, including plants and beloved items that the postman usually navigates successfully...

The last so called "Agent Orange clearance"  was a polite affair and stuff wasn't removed without resident's approval. They did it over three pre-announced lunch periods over three days, eg, Finch/Congers/Frankham may be next, possibly Monday, and Holden/Wilshaw/Browne/Castell/Cremer the next day. The notable thing about their last 'sweep' was that they had no idea how many flats were included in their last 'block' and didn't get round to half of them. Mainly they did it when people were out so approval was unavailable. There seems to be an assumption that council house residents are in all day.

However, this is 'Caretaking Services' so expect some inconsistencies and historically, you can expect complete ineptitude (no reflection on the shop floor). The letter had no signature, no contact name and no reference number. 

Let us know if you didn't get the letter of 15th April 2011. And meanwhile do a spring clean of your balcony, but don't get rid of stuff you want there like plants or a bike you have to store (where else are you going to put it?). If the postman can reach your neighbour without tripping up, how can it be a health and safety hazard? If you're creating an eyesore for your neighbours though, clear it up, for Pete's sake.

Postscript:

We've heard that a few people didn't receive the letter referred to above. But Leaseholders should've received a letter "Re: Fire Safety" in April that came with Home magazine and posted directly to their address. The letter was signed by the Head of Leasehold Services. Among other things the letter states:

To minimise fire risk in your property please ensure that you:

Do not store anything on balconies that could easily catch fire
Do not overload electrical sockets
Install smoke detectors and test them regularly

To minimise fire risk in the communal areas of the building please ensure that you:

Keep communal areas clear
Do not wedge open fire doors in corridors
Never leave refuse sacks, bicycles, children's buggies, plant pots, washing or other obstructions in communal corridors or walkways
Keep all exits from your home clear so people can get out easily if there is a fire.

However, these rules appear to be directed towards blocks where communal corridors and walkways are internal. Ours are not.

Invitation to the rats - and possible eviction

This is what happens when you leave rubbish at the bottom of the stairs...first the foxes break open the bags and sniff out the chicken wings (this pic was taken a couple of weeks ago, late at night, after a fox was spotted rummaging at the bottom of 41-60 Holden). Then the rats come and feed...a gigantic rat was spotted on this very site a week later...

At the last TRA meeting, we were joined by Karen Sweeney, a Lewisham Homes officer based at Pepys Estate. She told us she had particular responsibility for pest control. Part of the job involved spot checks on rubbish left by bin chambers. We were surprised to hear that in a particular case on Crossfields, she had opened a dumped rubbish bag, and rather like a paparazzi reporter, had gone through the bag looking for evidence of where it had come from. She told us she had found a letter and traced the bag to a flat in Castell. The occupant was then visited and threatened with eviction if they continued to dispose of their rubbish incorrectly.

That indicates how seriously Lewisham Homes takes the matter of rubbish disposal, and how we should too. There is no point in the TRA complaining that the bins and bin chambers and hopper heads (the balcony bin chutes) aren't properly maintained and kept clean, if residents continue to dump rubbish on balconies and outside the bin chambers, or dispose of unwrapped food down the chutes. So please do your bit to keep the rats at bay!

noisy neighbours part 1

I know this issue crops up a lot so I thought it might be of interest to people to hear about my problem. For the past couple of months the kids upstairs and their constant running about have been unbelievably noisy. And when I say running about I don't mean the pitter patter of toddlers I mean colossal crashes and bangs as the kids throw themselves around, jump off furniture and occassionally bang objects on the ground for no apparent reason. It starts about 7 in the morning and carries on until they go to school, and then it starts again about 4 when they get home continuing until at least 9 or 10pm sometimes later. Weekends and school holidays it tends to go on most of the day. Its so loud that my flatmate has moved out unable to cope with it any longer. I try and stay out as long as possible only returning home after 11 when I can be sure they're in bed. I've spoke to the mum at least 3 times about it and although she appears relatively apologetic and understanding nothing changes and the noise carries on as before. By the way, in case anyone thinks I'm exagerrating this I've lived here 4 years and never once complained to anyone despite over the years enduring loud parties, babies crying at 3am and noisy building work. These things I can accept as a part of living in a communal building and they've never bothered me but the current din is like nothing I've ever experienced before. According to the council website there are 2 options in dealing with noisy neighbours; one is to speak to the environmental health department who will take the case on and try to deal with it for you. They don't however deal with 'domestic noise' such as mine as its not covered under the 1990 Environmental Health Act which is annoying because what they're doing is much louder and more frequent than some of the other stuff covered in the act such as washing machines rumbling or loud music playing. The second option is to contact the anti social behaviour team at the nearest housing office which is what I did although their powers seem somewhat limited in dealing with this. What they did offer was to send a letter to the perpetrator and then if nothing changes we both have to attend a meeting where a 'mediator' from lewisham homes will presumably attempt to broker a deal between us. I spoke to them on Wednesday and was told by the woman on the phone, (who, it has to be said was very helpful), that said letter would arrive upstairs by Friday and then we'd take it from there so I wait with bated breath. And potentially life threatening high blood pressure...