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FOR the second time in 12 months tenants, including sick pensioners and women with young children, were marooned at the top of a nine storey tower block for almost four days after lifts broke down on the Bemerton estate at Barnsbury.
Once again the finger of blame was being pointed at engineers with the borough’s housing agency, Homes for Islington (HfI), who stopped work on New Year’s Eve and were “unavailable” for repairs until Monday afternoon.
Gloria Johnson, 72, who lives on the top floor of Perth House, said it took her almost half an hour to walk up nine flights of stairs loaded with shopping.
“We have two lifts,” she added. “One is always out of action and the other broke down on Friday. We had the same problem a few months ago.
“When lifts break down on Friday you can never get anyone out until Monday afternoon at the earliest.
“I consider myself reasonably fit for a 72-year-old. But believe me, I was shattered after having to walk up nine flights of stairs to the ninth floor. It meant stopping at every landing for a few minutes.”
Alf Doyle, 78, who has heart trouble, couldn’t leave his flat on the second floor, which meant his 80-year-old wife Eileen did the shopping on her own.
Mr Doyle said: “They shouldn’t treat people like this – there should be someone on call at the weekends.”
Residents are also complaining that a security door at the front of Perth House is not working, resulting in strangers being able to gain entrance to the block. Residents have reported young people taking drugs on the staircases.
Caledonian ward Labour councillor Paul Convery thought that the almost four-day delay to repair a lift was totally unacceptable.
He added: “We are still waiting for maintenance to be handed over from HfI to the estate’s tenants’ management organisation [TMO], which will mean round the clock repairs.
“Once again I say we need a proper assessment of both the lifts and a major repair programme carried out to ensure tenants are not continually being inconvenienced.”
PETER GRUNER