Artist’s impression of how the development could look

• CONSTRUCTION work on Essential Living’s 24-storey tower at 100 Avenue Road has carried on throughout the Covid-19 crisis despite government guidelines that construction work must play an important role in “ensuring public safety” or providing “public services”.

Not even Essential Living could have the gall to pretend that building their high-end apartments with no social housing element and a mere nod to “affordability” have anything whatsoever to do with “ensuring public safety” or the provision of “public services”.

Yet, the interpretation of whether specific works are permissible has been left up to developers themselves. The council cannot help and neither can the police.

The council has admitted that it is helpless to intervene [even if they wanted to]: we do not have any legal power to intervene and close down construction sites or force them comply with government guidance…”

So, evidently, are the police who can only take action on activity that takes place outside of a site: “…The police have advised the council that if workers are congregating, for example, outside of a site they are able to take action.” [according to a Camden enforcement officer].

EL have taken advantage of the toothless government guidelines and are selfishly sacrificing the wellbeing of the community in favour of their own bottom line.

The hundreds of residents whose homes surround the site, some of whom we know are struggling to manage the rigours of Covid-19, some who are [genuine] key workers trying to catch up on sleep, and most of whom are just trying to stay sane while self-isolating at home on government orders,are powerless to avoid the relentless, daily, 10-hour cacophony of clanging, banging, scraping, drilling, rasping, thudding, yelling, grinding, and churning that goes on six days a week on the site.

For us there is no escape from this living nightmare. It is inexcusable for the government to allow such a life-destroying decision to be left entirely in the hands of the perpetrator.

How do any of them sleep at night?

EDIE RAFF
Chair, Cresta House Residents’ Association