For a copy of the letter to which the following fax was a reply please see

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Fax Transmission
To:           Mr Alan Taylor, RBK&C Chief Executive and Town Clerk   
Date:        Friday, 18th September 1998
Fax Nr.:    0171 361 2764    Pages:    4,   including this cover sheet.
From:       Gary D Chance        
Subject:   Mr Quinn’s Letter of 15th September 1998

Dear Mr Taylor

 C O N F I D E N T I A L

Thank you for Mr Quinn’s letter of 15th September 1998 the contents of which have been noted.

1.    I am quite surprised to see him answering my correspondence as he refused to continue such work last year when I pointed out deliberate factual errors in the EMB Chair’s statement.  This was confirmed again in following correspondence from this person.  Mr Quinn is adverse to the truth and evidently non-objective.  Since that time others have responded and even Mr Quinn in a short letter of inconsequential content.  However, this is most consequential as it is life threatening on several counts with respect to me, and Mr Quinn reveals himself to be both ignorant of the content of recent correspondence and perhaps pejorative in his response recommendation.  

However, since this is a critical matter I must reply to his letter regardless:

2.    I find your assertion that the information has not been forwarded to the EMB for investigation because it was marked confidential to be both capricious and arbitrary.  You have not let this stop you from doing so in the past.  This information as submitted, however, involves the EMB as a participant and should not be forwarded to the EMB for investigation as they are apparently a party to this ongoing activity as I have noted.  It is up to your office to investigate the Administration of your contract with the EMB.  The complaint procedures communicated to me in the above noted letter notwithstanding do no relieve you of this Administrative responsibility as I have noted in the past.  Thus, such information was communicated to you as a result of its extreme character.

3.    There is every point in keeping you informed of exactly what is going on with respect to the preservation of Government property by those with whom the Council has contracted to carry out such function when that preservation is threatened by both acts and omissions.  You are responsible for this property, and it is my responsibility to bring all matters relating thereto which threaten the property itself.  To state otherwise is a serious breach of Council responsibility.  

4.    The Council is responsible for the management of the Lancaster West Estate as it has contracted out that activity to another party but cannot contract out responsibility.  Almost all of the matters raised in my correspondence have been dealt with ineffectively over the past two years by the Lancaster West EMB as has been clearly communicated to you.  This has continued up to the present moment of writing this communication.  All of the procedures with regard to these deficiencies have been through the procedures which are outlined except for the political process of taking it to elected representatives.  It has always been my hope and intention that these matters be resolved by reasonable people involved with the direct Administration of this Government property.  

5.    It is with Mr Quinn’s final paragraph and “final point” that I find potentially pejorative, repugnant and most reflective of his ignorance in handling of this matter.  I have been under the care of not only my GP but two consultant’s clinics at St Mary’s Hospital throughout the period of my residency at the premises as well as other health care professionals.  The point of this care was to prevent the recurrence of cancer and other health matters which could be disabling to me.  That was my responsibility, and I have discharged that most assiduously since July 1996 when I signed on at my current GP’s list and was simultaneously referred to a St Mary’s Hospital Clinic for examination.  The entire endeavour with regard to health care management on my part was to deal with stress management and mitigate if not eliminate damages and/or personal injuries to my health.

    A.    At the initial clinic referral from July 1996 seven biopsies have been taken at periodic internals over the past two years with the seventh on 2nd June 1998 proving to be malignant.  These preventive measures have so far proved their worth in this area concerning the recurrence of cancer.

    B.    At the beginning of this year another problem developed which was deemed a medical emergency in the context of A. above.  My GP was informed on 17th April 1998 of this potentially disabling malady and referred me to another St Mary’s Hospital clinic for treatment.  Steps were taken in May by both my GP and the first Consultative Clinic to secure an earlier examination appointment since an immediate response was not forthcoming.  Such examination was secured in May, and I have had several visits to this Clinic where corrective measures to treat the symptom have been successfully taken.  However, the cause is still unknown although there is a suspected cause(s) which is (are) under examination.

    C.    A third potentially disabling health problem which was included in my application for Council Housing and gave me the medical points for such Housing has recurred in recent weeks as a result of the extreme stress of this situation which I had hoped to relieve by means of communication to your office as all other avenues of redress had failed barring taking this out for political or judicial review which are not direct methods for getting the situation ameliorated.  I have recently visited my GP in regard to this situation for consultation and advice prior to any such suggestion by Mr Quinn in his letter of 15th September 1998.

This third situation noted in C. above is a directly result of the stress caused by recent events and was the subject of my recent correspondence to your office seeking to assuage such activity that has resulted in contributing to this potentially disabling medical condition.  It can be successfully argued, I believe, that all three of the above medical conditions/personal injuries are stress induced and/or stress related.  Thus, I have sought the appropriate method of eliminating this stress by going directly to those responsible to eliminate it so that the medical conditions could also be ameliorated.  This has not occurred, and Mr Quinn informs me that no action has been taken by your office for the arbitrary and capricious reasons already noted above.  

My steps in addressing the problem in my situation have been precisely the correct ones especially contacting your office directly to keep you fully informed so that this situation might be cured and relieve the stress which was and is causing me personal injury.  Contrary to Mr Quinn’s ignorant and misdirected “advice” at the close of his letter, I have sought medical assistance with this situation now for over two years as outlined above.  However, the problems have gotten progressively worse as a result of your failure to deal properly with this situation in line with the Council’s responsibilities for contracting out the management services.  

These problems are just this side of being disabling which makes me quite happy at the present as it enables me to maintain my employment search and availability for work.  I do not want to become a ward of the Government should any one of these conditions become disabling.  I will point out that examinations are still pending which could prove to be adverse in this regard.  It is my sincere hope that this is not the case, but as with the positive biopsy these are early preventive measures which can maintain health and well-being and avoid disability.  

I have done everything I can under the most difficult conditions imaginable.  My communications to you were a reflection of these not only extreme but personally dangerous conditions as already described.  This week and even last night the problems I have brought to your attention continue.  They have already been brought to the attention of the Lancaster West EMB in the order outlined with no effect in the past.  Thus, they come to your doorstep for resolution.  To tell me to go away is a totally irresponsible and reprehensible act on the part of Mr Quinn.  

In my judgement Mr Quinn is not qualified by virtue of his negative disposition to deal with this matter.  His failure to inform himself of even the basic points about which he comments is the most gross example of mismanagement and omission I could have imagined.  I believe Mr Quinn is simply trying to be pejorative in his comments about me and his recommendations are intended to cast a cloud over what is quite a well-balanced and well-executed attempt to accomplish the appropriate stress-management from my point of view and experience to provide you with the necessary information to properly address and end this external abuse about which I have no control so that the medical care I have been undergoing now for over two years can be allowed to succeed and my health and well-being preserved and not harmed further leading to not only disability but also death since these are life threatening situations too.  

I must bring up a particular instance of exactly what I am talking about as it has just occurred last night again and has been brought to your attention.  It is this kind of thing to which Mr Quinn might well be referring in his last paragraph’s “final point” although he is non-specific.  

Since the last Saturday in July (nearly two months now), I have restricted my water usage to non-disturbing times and usage.  The tenant underneath and those associated with Flat xxx (four adults in total) have exaggerated minor problems and imputed activity on my part which does not exist.  First, I removed the protective plastic cloths over the balcony as a result of this (already described).  Since the “water issue” arose immediately thereafter I have done everything possible to avoid false accusations there too.  Describing this might sound quirky, but the description is quite objective and accurate.  Its “quirkiness” derives from the actions of those being described.

Last night I did not use the water at all from yesterday afternoon until this morning at 7:00 am.  However, at about 11:30 pm and again at just after 5:00 am, there was a sound of water in the wall coming from a flat adjacent (not in my wall but below).  I took this to be the flat underneath as they had woken me in each instance by excessive reaction to this sound.  As in the past, it sounded very much like they thought I was the one running the water which made this really normal sound of water running in the pipes in the wall, but I was not.  I would have slept through it all if those in the flat below had not awoken me with excessive noise including talking very loudly, apparent TV noises and going outside with the sound of voices raised loudly to see if I was up and about possibly causing such a disturbance.  I was actually trying to get back to sleep in each instance.  

At 11:30 pm last night there were similar sounds from the flat above including going out on the balcony and generally active at the same time. Earlier this flat had engaged in similar disturbances which I have already described to you.  It is clear to me that at least those in Flat xxx below ascribe this water usage and subsequent minor noise to me which is not the case at all as last night confirms without a doubt.  Someone else is most likely innocently using water in another flat the sound of which apparently disturbs the residents of Flat xxx.  It might be noisy in their wall.  I want to point out that this is nothing unusual and nothing different from the past over the two plus years of my residency.  It is just that those associated with Flat xxx below have chosen to make this an issue since the end of July 1998.  They have made a mountain out of a mole hill for their own purposes, and it cannot be dismissed that they are not also the authors of this problem.

However, this has caused me great damage and personal injury recently with the recurrence of a potentially crippling medical condition which was ameliorated by my formerly taking two baths a day and soaking the area affected.  No complaint or problem ever arose in my doing this over a two plus year period until the last Saturday night in July.  Because of this disruption to preventive measures I personally take to ensure that the problem is under control and due to the complete disruption of my sleep (I was awakened four times last night from sound sleep: by the dog barking below; music from above; excessive noise from below on the two occasions noted above) which has permitted me to get only a few hours sleep at a time in this environment, this potentially disabling condition has re-emerged with a vengeance and is quite threatening at present.  As a result I can only repeat that this harassment which apparently also involves the EMB must cease and desists immediately.  

I have collected all my medical records for the past two years up to the present and am prepared to present these in court, but I am most anxious to solve the problem rather than apply to the courts which is both a time consuming and expensive process primarily for you and not me.  It is in your interest to solve this problem as much as mine, and I sincerely hope that you take whatever steps are necessary to see to it that it is done. The investigation remains with your office and not with the EMB.  Failure to investigate and ameliorate any further damages could have the most serious of consequences.  I shall keep you informed in the future as the Council is ultimately responsible for Administration contrary to any statement by Mr Quinn.  

Yours sincerely,   

GDC/s/

C O N F I D E N T I A L