Rotten to the core
IWCA activist Lee Cole reports back on his enquiry into the work carried out by builders Wilmott Dixon on behalf of Ealing Family housing association. The response from tenants has revealed a problem far greater than previously imagined.
Hundreds of homes on phase three of the new estate are suffering from the effects of shoddy paint work . The problem appears to have arisen because painters did not use either primer or undercoat on windows but glossed directly onto bare wood. This has resulted inevitably in flaked paint and exposed rotten woodwork.
This problem, while by far the most common, is not the only one caused by cowboy builders employed by Ealing Family. Other examples include ill fitting doors and a central heating system that has to be completely changed because it was not fitted properly and is now covered in rusted, leaking holes.
In the latter case Ealing Family initially denied all responsibilty. However, after a relentless campaign by the tenant they are now in negotiations which will hopefully lead to compensation.
A couple of questions spring to mind in light of the findings of our investigation. Who had the responsibility for checking and passing work on phase three? And who stood to profit from allowing work done to hundreds of houses, so obviously done on the cheap, go unchallenged? Whatever the answers are, the situation remains nothing short of a scandal.
Leys Independent, issue 15, September 2002
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