IT’S TIME FOR LABOUR TO BE HONEST ABOUT THE FUTURE OF IPSWICH’S PREFABS
The prefabs in North East Ipswich are amongst the last in the country to survive. When erected in the late 1940’s, their life expectancy was up to 20 years, not 60.
Whilst the Conservatives welcome the belated £600,000 investment programme recently announced by the council, this should be part of a long-term strategy for the site, not a sticking plaster.
Residents love the bungalows because the accommodation is on a single level, but many people, especially those with disabilities, struggle to reach their own front doors because they have to navigate the vast and heavily rutted grass verges. The large gardens are also a burden for some residents who rely on the council’s assisted gardening scheme which now costs £6000 a year.
Cllr. Terry has worked hard on behalf of local residents to get individual properties refurbished – without any support from labour councillors in Rushmere ward, and none from the housing portfolio holder, Cllr. Mowles, who allowed requests to be ignored, leaving one couple with an unfit bathroom, and leaking toilet, for 10 months until she arranged for a doctor to intervene. Recently, she took the new Head of Housing on a tour of the site, highlighting the issues and to meet a long term resident, whose property required urgent works to make it safer and warmer. Requests previously ignored.
Two years ago, one of the council’s own surveyors described the prefabs as not fit for purpose, and even after the proposed works, they will continue to fall well short of the quality Ipswich Standard for council homes introduced by the Conservatives, as well as the luxurious new council homes now being developed in Ipswich.
Although he denies it, Cllr. Mowles was advised by officers that there needed to be a strategy for area, so it is totally irresponsible of him to say that he has no idea how many years will be added to the prefabs’ lifespan as a result of the proposed works. Any major investment on this scale should be part of the council’s housing strategy, which it doesn’t have!
The works include re-roofing (for the second time in 30 years), rewiring, new bathrooms and kitchens. These works will disturb the asbestos insulation which is still found in many of the prefabs – the material is safe unless disturbed, which means that residents will have to be housed elsewhere during any major works. Where are they to be housed? Given the scale of the planned expenditure per property, is the council going to compensate those tenants who have made significant improvements out of their own pockets?
Labour should be honest with local people and admit that the £600,000 is only likely to add another 10 years to the prefabs’ lifespan and start consulting with the whole community on what should replace them. Given the turgid nature of the planning process for any development in Ipswich, this, alone, would take about 3 years, and it is unlikely that any new housing would start to come out of the ground on a phased basis for a further 2 years beyond that.
So, the sooner Labour grasps the nettle, the better for everyone.