• AS a resident of the Alexandra and Ainsworth Estate I am grateful to your unnamed correspondent who challenges the council’s current approach to upgrading the heating distribution system at this estate, (Is Camden’s net zero CO2 target a fantasy? July 15).

When it was built, the Alexandra and Ainsworth Estate represented a masterpiece of architecture and engineering, the two seamlessly working together to deliver comfort for its residents.

It was the product of a municipalist philosophy of public government that council leader Georgia Gould has explicitly embraced, (CLES report, Taking forward New Municipalism in London https://cles.org.uk/blog/taking-forward-new-municipalism-in-london/).

It is not enough however to deliver equitable and sustainable communities through new housing developments packed with the latest energy-saving technologies. The real challenge is in properly retrofitting the existing stock.

The Alexandra and Ainsworth Estate offers Camden Council an opportunity to demonstrate municipal leadership and stewardship by resourcing the most innovative solutions available (and there are several) to challenge the climate emergency they have declared. Will they take it?

It is also worth noting that the council is pushing for these upgrades under the banner of giving residents more control over temperature and energy consumption; but what control will they have if the building will still be leaking heat from the concrete structure and window frames?

What is the point of double glazing a window that doesn’t close properly? At the moment, residents pay for the heat through service charges or rents.

This helps to redistribute among all residents the financial impacts disproportionally experienced by flats which, due to their position near a lift shaft or at the end of a block, are surrounded by uninsulated walls.

When metering is finally individualised and the bills passed on to the residents, many will only have the freedom to be cold or be broke. Has Camden thought about this?

ELENA BESUSSI, NW8