The Kirkfell block in Regent’s Park is only seven years old

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PROMISES of high quality housing to people who lost their homes due to the construction of HS2 have not been delivered on an estate in Camden.

Kirkfell block in Robert Street on the Regent’s Park estate was built just seven years ago but it is already being left to rot with recurring issues of mould, leaks and mushroom spawns.

It was just one of the new modern blocks created along with Caudale, Ravenglass and Bowfell to rehouse tenants on the Regent’s Park estate who were forced out of Ainsdale, Eskdale and Silverdale which were bulldozed to make way for the £106billion HS2 railway into Euston.

The council blocks were funded by HS2 Ltd with promises of new modern homes to replace the cramped conditions in the old council blocks, moving residents away from the noise and dust generated by the construction nightmare.

Mould in the block

But now, just seven years on, families are forced to live in a new nightmare, with the reality in the Kirkfell block communal areas being mould, leaks from drain pipes repaired with makeshift sellotape, stained damp carpets and mushroom spawns growing on the exterior building walls and in the bike shed.

Kelly Strong, Chair of the Regents Park estate Tenants Residents Association, said that dealing with issues on Kirkfell was now an everyday occurrence. She said: “I think people were promised a lot of quality. They were placed into new homes, promised that the quality is going to be much better. And I think with something new, you always assume that the quality is going to be better anyway, when you buy something second-hand, you expect a bit of wear and tear.

“You get something new and you want something new, not something that is going to break down within 12 months. But this build was for council homes, not for private renting, that’s why I expect it is in such a bad state.”

She added: “So in terms of the time it took them to build Kirkfell, I think it was appropriate for what they were building. It’s just whether or not the quality was there. You have got to think of the piping and the materials used and where materials were housed before they were actually dropped off at these places as well as where all the materials were bought from. There’s a budget that people have got to keep to. It does make you question whether corners were cut.”

Damp and, below, mushroom spores

The block also houses the Dick Collins Social Hall, a new facility created to replace the old Dick Collins Hall in Redhill Street.

Last month, the New Journal reported on issues the social club has had with mould and leaks leading tenants to fear for the future of their club and their treasured bar.

Ms Strong said that slow repair response times in Kirkfell and a lack of communication from the council has made the problems spiral out of control.

She said: “In the Kirkfell block we’re constantly fighting to get the repairs done. And when you phone up for a repair and they say, we haven’t got your address on the system, it’s a bit worrying.

“It takes your time away from doing what you’ve been elected to do. I’ve already spent nearly three hours just this week, trying to organize repairs for the hall. That’s three hours from my home life, three hours from my own time and three hours away from me helping any residents.”

“I think they need to get a project manager. We need to get someone to come in and say: right, what’s actually gone wrong? What caused these problems? Communication goes a long way. You want someone to come and see it and appreciate that it isn’t right. That’s all we want – the acknowledgement that it isn’t right and we need to fix it.”

Housing chief Councillor Sagal Abdi-Wali, said: “We would like to apologise to residents, who have a right to live in a home that is safe, warm and dry, and we are determined to deliver on this promise. We are aware of a number of issues relating to leaks in the building and are investigating these to fully understand the causes and address them so that they do not reoccur.

“We urge any residents who have concerns to contact us as soon as possible.”