----- Original Message -----

Merrick Cockell
Leader of the Council
Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea
Town Hall
Horton Street
London W8

Dear Cllr Cockell

Enclosed is a letter to the TMO Chief Executive concerning the unconscionable fact that the central heating remains on at the Lancaster West Estate this summer including these days of record and near-record temperatures.

I send this along to you since tenant management for the 900 or so units of the Lancaster West Estate are left at the mercy of the elements in many instances due to these failures of tenant management putting the tenants at extreme health risk.

I also want to point out that this particular section of Hurstway Walk has
not had operating door security locks now for weeks.  This is in the middle of the hot summer and higher crime period as well as the looming Notting Hill Carnival coming up in a few weeks.  This is the same thing which happened in the summer of 1996 when the locks were out for months.  Nothing has improved, and the problems still persist as these security outages occur from time to time for weeks on end as was noted earlier this year.

There is no excuse for leaving the central heating on and any health problems which result therefrom will become the the liability of the Council and all those involved in the tenant management process.  This is just one more such liability in a long list of an overall pattern of such problems which have never been effectively dealt with for years.

Will you kindly forward a copy of this Email to Mr Perry for his action and take steps to provide us with Email addresses so that all those connected with tenant management can be contacted with this efficient and costless means of communication as you provide for yourself.

I sincerely hope that no health problems have occurred as a result of this abominable management from tenant management.

Yours sincerely

/s/ Gary D Chance

Gary D Chance
Monday, 11th August 2003

enclosure:

Gordon Perry
Chief Executive
RBK&C Tenant Management Organisation
The Town Hall
Horton Street
London W8 7NX

Dear Mr Perry

 Re Tenant Management Created Central Heating Health Hazard

For the past five days as well as today making a total of six days at least there have been near record and record temperatures in London and the southeast of England.

During this entire summer and this period, the central heating has been left on for the Lancaster West Estate.  This has been the standard for most recent summer years.  When I first occupied the premises in May 1996, this was not the case since the central heating was turned off during the summer.

The excessively hot central heating pipes which run through the floor and to the bottom of each radiator heat flats including mine to unbearable levels of heat during this period with record temperatures outside.  The radiators are heated to a degree even if they are turned off.

I would also think that this constitutes a considerable additional expense to operating the boiler in order to provide this extra hot water throughout the system.

Not only does it make financial sense to turn off the central heating in summer, but it constitutes a serious health hazard by leaving it on especially to those residents who might be vulnerable to the excessive heat.

Yours sincerely,

/s/ Gary D Chance

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Monday, 11th August 2003