Campaigners hoping to achieve better housing conditions for tenants staged action at the Places for People offices this week.
Gina Upward, the secretary of Acorn’s Preston branch, Alana Cooper and other campaigners entered the Places for People offices at Ashton-on-Ribble to request a meeting with Places for People citing a number of issues with their 2,500 properties in the Preston area.
Acorn, a community union that supports tenants living in problematic conditions, took the action on Tuesday (22 April) afternoon. They were originally shut out from the office after alerting Places for People of their visit but were able to gain access to reception when an employee exited for lunch.
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They have gathered evidence of a large number of residents living in Places for People properties on New Rough Hey in Ingol that includes damp, not being listened to, leaks, poor customer service, mould and long waits for repairs that do happen.
Other problems were cited at properties in Plungington, the city centre, Clayton Brook and Turnfield.
It is the second time that Acorn have staged action at the Places for People offices. This instance was sparked by the inquest into the death of Richard Swarbrick, who took his own life at his home in Clayton Brook on the day he was due to be evicted from his home by Places for People.
The inquest found that it was impossible to say whether eviction proceedings impacted his decision to take his life, but Places for People has undertaken a review of working practices in regard to debt enforcement and vulnerable clients.
Alana Cooper, who helped Acorn to gather the evidence after working with the union on her own housing problems, told Blog Preston: “We just want to organise a meeting between all of the tenants that are having issues, Places for People, the council, and Acorn so that we can solve some of the problems.
“The systems that are in place are not working. They’re not meeting the needs of their tenants, they’re leaving tenants without repairs and in dire health conditions. This needs to be sorted out because it’s not just isolated cases.
“There are failings here that need to be met with solutions. We’re trying to help provide them but Places for People just don’t want to know. We’re trying to work with Places for People but they try to shut down communication.”
Gina Upward told Blog Preston after the action: “They wasted two hours of members time negotiating with us when all they had to do was arrange a meeting. Again telling us that they are only willing to meet with tenants on an individual basis before they can assess the need for a general, open meeting.
“However, the Places for People representative said that they are happy for Acorn to represent individual tenants and to accompany them to meetings. Tenants that want such a meeting with places for people about their concerns and want support should get in touch with Acorn Preston.”
A spokesperson for Places for People said: “We always want to hear from customers who have concerns about their homes. Our mission is to deliver the quality, affordable homes people need and deserve. We know there is always more to do, and we are committed to continuing to enhance our services for our customers.
“A huge part of ensuring our homes are at the right standard is working hard to address any repair issues raised to us by our customers.
“Our priority will always be our customers. We want any of our customers who have any concerns or issues to speak to us directly so we can help them straight away. It’s what we’re here for.
“Our Customer Service Centre is open 24/7 on 01772 667002, or they can contact us via email at CSC.RepairsTeam@placesforpeople.co.uk , via our website, or through their Community Housing Manager, the contact details for whom they will have.”
You can get in touch with Acorn Preston by contacting their branch on 07759002587 or email on jamie.rodney@acorntheunion.org.uk.
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