• Warning as rat population booms. These news reports have been repeated from time-to-time in the media. They are quite important and indicate that the problem is not being solved which has been aggravated by the recent floods.

• Rubbish disposal problem persists for over a decade. Feeding the vermin all night long does not matter to them if this is cleaned up in the morning only to recur on a nightly basis as shown in this representative video from June 2005.

• Accountability and Responsibility are split from Power. The EMB has the power vested in it by the Council while the TMO has the legal responsibility and accountability without any power.

1. Warning as rat population booms.

BBC News Wednesday, 19 December 2007, 11:15 GMT

Warning as rat population booms

Rat catchers say it is important to exterminate before they breed

Pest controllers are warning about the danger of the rapidly expanding rat population in Britain.

Wet weather has been blamed by experts for the 1.6m infestations reported across the country in 2006.

Some pest controllers say they have had 30% more business this year, and are urging anyone worried about a rat problem to get in touch right away.

Rats can damage buildings by gnawing through materials. They can also spread disease and illness.

. . .

Peter Crowden, a pest controller in the East Midlands warned: "The rats are moving into city centres where there's a ready made food supply for them from fast food restaurants to rubbish being left about.

"We also experience a lot of fly tipping. That doesn't help and it's great for the rat population."

Disease is another major concern. Hair, droppings and urine can contaminate food and surfaces.

It is estimated between 15 and 30 % of the rat population carries the potentially deadly Weils Disease.

Warning as rat population booms

2. Rubbish disposal problem persists for over a decade. I've been dealing with this issue for over a decade. The rubbish disposal problem continues as is dramatically revealed in this video below which shows the feeding opportunity from food and liquid on the floor overnight for vermin of all kinds. Although this video reflects a the problem in June 2005, it is representative of the ongoing problem which has persisted for over a decade to the present.

3. Accountability and Responsibility are split from Power. I believe that this is why this problem has existed for more than a decade as can be seen in the comments from the autumn of 1997 noted below with the same problems persisting today.

In a letter dated 24th September 1997 to me from the then Lancaster West Estate Management Board (EMB) Chair, Lucy Daniels, in response to two key problems I raised during 1997 1) operating and parking motor bikes and scooters on the Estate; and (2) rubbish disposal. Here is what she wrote about rubbish disposal:

"The problem with the refuse, and ensuring that everyone deposits their rubbish down the chute, is a constant problem, that is resolved by constant vigilance, and education. The refuse chutes can only be as wide as the hopper head, and must not be too large in order to prevent a child falling into the chute. The paladin bin collection is that designated for the estate, and a separate system would be expensive to maintain, could lead to further abuse; and sill probably not be used in the way intended.

"A survey of the estate has recently been undertaken, and rubbish was only found outside a hopper close to your flat. The contents revealed an address of someone living on the estate and a letter has been sent advising them of the nuisance. Further instances will be treated in a similar way and repeat offenders will be advised of the breaches of tenancy."

1. The "survey" undertaken described above evidently occurred after the night's rubbish left on the floor had been removed. This paragraph quite sadly refers to an evident "inspection" that was anticipated. The reality which is not recognised in this letter is that rubbish is left on the floor almost every night under the rubbish chute doors without being put down the chutes. Even small bags are left.

2. No real effort has been made to identify those leaving rubbish on the floors during the past decade despite on one occasion the promise of using cameras. The results are seen in the representative video above.

3. The rubbish chutes need to be made bigger as the only practical solution to the problem to accommodate the larger bags which people use from large families occupying three and four bedroom flats in this area. A wider door with a properly fitted safety door present no risk for children falling down the chutes. However, there might very well be a problem with regard to the ability to make the chutes larger.

As it stands now and has been the case for the past for more than a decade, the cleaners put down the rubbish left on the floor overnight. This accumulation can be substantial and results in a significant amount of work for the cleaners themselves which can be quite difficult resulting in in a degree of noise nuisance. The size of the rubbish chutes and their safety doors is so small that the cleaners themselves break the safety doors themselves by putting this rubbish down the chutes.

in many instances these rubbish chute safety doors on left on the floor because it is easier to put down the accumulated overnight rubbish down the chutes without the safety doors present. However, this presents a most definite safety hazard for children especially the rubbish chute on the second floor by the front door which is quite low to the floor and easily accessible to small children. This safety door was recently left on the floor near the rubbish chute for some six months from early December 2006 to early June 2007.

There was no exceptional concern for children that was demonstrated by any action to repair this safety door promptly. I sent along a significant number of Email notifications of this persistent safety problem including photographs during this six month period without any apparent results until early June 2007. The argument by the former EMB Chair about the safety of children is belied by the actions of those who are responsible for repairing this safety hazard.

Ms Lucy Daniels started her letter with the stunning statement as follows:

"Thank you for your communications to the Chief Executive, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which have been passed to me for a reply.

"The Lancaster West Estate is managed by the Estate Management Board (EMB) under agreement with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The EMB is an organisation independent of the Tenant Management Organisation (TMO), though Tenants Link is published by the TMO and TMO staff are seconded to work for the EMB."

This was a stunning statement from over a decade ago because my tenancy agreement is made with the TMO. They have the legal responsibility and accountability for what happens on the Lancaster West Estate, yet the EMB is a separate organisation established by the Council to manage the Estate. The EMB has no legal responsibility or accountability to the tenants. Thus, the EMB has power without responsibility. The TMO has responsibility without power.

The Estate Officer and the Area Manager are TMO employees seconded to the EMB. They operate with two hats which does not work at all. They cannot discharge a legal responsibility as a TMO employee if the EMB chooses to override any decision with respect to what is to be done on the Lancaster West Estate.

It was my conclusion then as it is now that creating two separate organisations like this was a terrible blunder reflecting mismanagement. It struck me more as of a political decision made on the basis of political divisions in the council (this is a Labour Party enclave while the rest of the Council is a Conservative Party area) rather than sound social housing management reasons. Rubbish disposal is just one of these problems.