6 November (Part 2) - Bexley needs a clear out. Urgently
I
suspect the real message behind the photos of
the derelict
property in Slade Green has gone unnoticed.
Bexley Council has owned it for three years. Two houses couldn’t have cost them
much less than £500,000 and it has been a complete waste of money. The Director
of Housing who I always believed was one of the more competent officers is paid
£96,726 a year plus a 20% pension contribution from the Council.
If she is one of the better ones…
Is 176/178 Slade Green Road a one-off cock up or typical of Bexley Council?
The
roofless house suggests it is.
A Pakistani friend of mine works not as a high powered pubic servant but as a
double glazing fitter. On 11th March this year he exchanged contracts on a 117
year old house which had had nothing done to it since a rudimentary
bathroom was installed in 1962. The kitchen still boasted the original Butler
sink and two taps which emerged directly from the wall.
There was no central heating and very little insulation in the roof. The floor
boards were noticeably dodgy in places and the electrics were definitely inadequate.
The mortgage company refused to hand over the money because the Energy
Performance Certificate was rated F. A deal was done with the surveyor to get it
over the required threshold which is best not discussed here.
The photos immediately below were taken three days before the double glazing fitter
took over the property in March and the second set was taken on 16th April,
delayed by the intervening Easter holiday.
All downstairs floor boards lifted, replaced where necessary and insulation
placed beneath. New kitchen, refurbished bathroom, central heating, new wiring
installed and the loft insulated - all in four weeks.
Just what is Bexley Council doing spending tens of millions on old houses in
need of renovation and getting nothing done in years?
It is hard not to agree with the Labour view that Bexley Council has failed
and is failing totally and absolutely with its housing strategy but Councillor
Alan Downing calls any criticism “a load of rubbish”.
He is going next May but Bexley needs a much bigger clear out than just him.
Old house 7th March 2021.
Old house renovated by April.