Emergency meeting called by residents

Following the fire risks discovered on the estate and the 24 fire-marshals being deployed, some residents decided to call an emergency meeting for all residents of the four towers, to get together and discuss what is happening on our estate, and form a group to support each other.

We requested to use our Tenants & Residents Association hall on Pencraig Way for this meeting, but it was being used by the council as their base, and hub for the fire marshals. However Southwark Council told us that they would endeavour to make the space available for our 3pm meeting. On arrival, it transpired that the hall was double-booked; the Labour party were holding their selection process in their that afternoon. We pleaded with Cllr. Barrie Hargrove for use of the space for our emergency meeting, pointing out that many residents on the estate voted Labour and really needed their assistance at this time. Cllr. Barrie Hargrove responded by saying 'we don't need your votes anyway', subsequently, we were forced to hold the meeting on the grass outside the hall.

At the meeting, residents were invited to speak about their issues, and discuss with each other the problems that they had experienced over the years living on the Ledbury Estate. Many residents spoke of the cracks in their properties and explained how they had reported them many times over the years. Images and contact details were shared amongst residents and a Facebook group for residents was set up in order to facilitate a shared space where residents could interact.

Residents also discussed their concerns over the Ledbury Estate's future. With the Ledbury sitting within the 'Opportunity Area' boundary for the Old Kent Road regeneration, naturally residents felt worried about the estate's long term future, and we discussed ways in which we could campaign to ensure that the land covering the Ledbury Estate would remain exclusively council homes in the future.