Residents are stuck in darkened flats, while scaffolding blocks blocks for years

RESIDENTS of a block of flats that have been covered in scaffolding for the past four years have told how their lives are a misery.

Residents of Oak Square in Stockwell, South London, have had to contend with darkness and constant noise since work started in 2020.

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Lume Bajrime, 42, said she feels like her family is “living in a prison” in their darkened apartment.

Her children, aged 17, 15 and 10, are terrified of sleeping at night when someone climbs onto the scaffolding and enters their rooms.

I want to leave, I feel like a prisoner here

Lume Bajrime42

Lume, who pays £169 a week in rent, told The Sun: “It's dark all the time. We have to use light constantly. It's also cold. There have been several robberies in the flats.

“We can never leave the windows open because we're so scared. We never know what's going to happen.”

Neighbors dumped their waste on scaffolding outside Lume's home, she claimed, creating a foul odor.

She added: “The rubbish came from upstairs. It took ages, maybe a month, for someone to pick it up. There were fifteen black bags full of garbage.

'I want to go away. You feel like a prisoner here.'

Lume revealed she spends at least £100 a week on her electricity bill as she struggles to keep the lights on.

Her neighbor, Jessica Hoyos-Villa, 35, told how her autistic son, seven, could not cope with the lack of light.

She said: “It's hard to live here. You can't open the windows. He likes to see daylight, he is autistic.

“It's depressing for us. We were not warned and no amount of compensation is sufficient for the mental impact it has on you. Especially coming out of the Covid-19 crisis.

“It's like being in prison, that's the easiest way to put it. Natural light is so important. It's a safety hazard. You can't leave the windows open because anyone can come in.”

'IT IS TOO MUCH'

Jessica has lived in the house with her family for eight years, and the scaffolding went up three years ago.

She claimed that the drilling starts at 7am and does not stop throughout the day.

“We wake up every day with exercises. You want to pull your hair out, it's that bad. My son covers his ears. It's too much for him,” she added.

She revealed that a neighbor has mental health issues and almost got into a fight with a group of builders on the property.

“It was in the courtyard. It was really scary. This drilling is too much for people. They are drilling for seven days in a row. I could have been there with our children. It's scary. They have to work with the residents.”

Another resident, Robert, told how dozens of his neighbors have fled the blocks since work began.

He added: “People have been burgled. One person woke up with someone standing at the foot of the bed after coming in through the window. They were terrified and had to chase him out of their home.

“For years, builders would sit near my window having lunch on the top floors. After much complaining, they moved down the road, but it was so unpleasant.”

REPAIR WORK

Work on the site began after faulty cladding caused parts of the building's structure to break and fall to the ground.

The cladding was replaced, but work revealed serious damage to the brickwork structure.

And so construction began again to solve broader problems.

According to construction company Equans, the first scaffolding was installed in 2020 and the work should be completed in the summer of 2023.

But a year later there is still no end date for the buildings of housing association Notting Hill Genesis.

The latest updates from Equans claim that scaffolding came down from December 4, but the three blocks are still completely covered.

Each of the three 'program complete' dates currently reads 'delayed due to balcony repairs'.

The website still says: “Site decants: end of April 2024.”

One woman, who asked to remain anonymous, broke down in tears when The Sun visited her home.

She said: 'It's been so hard. I'm stuck here because I have a shared ownership property and don't have the salary for a full mortgage.

'My neighbors have all left and there used to be a very nice community.

“There are people here who wanted to retire but couldn't because of everything that happened. It's nonsense.”

NIGHTMARE

Another anonymous resident described it as a 'nightmare'.

“It's been taking so long. None of the deadlines have ever been met. I'm here at home and I have to drill constantly, I can't see outside, I have no access to daylight. My balcony is useless.

'I had to close the curtains this morning because there were two construction workers on my balcony. You wake up ready to be on defense mode so no one catches you. I can eavesdrop on the builders' morning meetings, it's so loud.'

Another, who also did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, added: “We hardly have any light. We left the window open once and they were drilling upstairs. All the debris came into my house. It was everywhere, covered. my furniture.

“We had no warning and my children's room was covered in throat-clogging dust. The children are traumatized by the noise, they are constantly holding their ears. It's not normal drilling – it makes your insides vibrate.

“They are huge exercises.”

Equans declined to comment when contacted by The Sun.

A spokesperson for Notting Hill Genesis said: “Oak Square has been subject to a substantial construction defect remediation program since 2020. Unfortunately, the program has suffered setbacks along the way, meaning it has taken longer than expected to complete and has been extremely disruptive to residents. .

“While the safety of residents has never been at risk, we recognize that they have suffered from persistent disruption for far too long. We apologize for the inconvenience and distress this has caused.

“In recognition of this, we have offered all households substantial compensation, averaging £13,000, and have offered to buy back residents' homes at a value assuming all remedial work has been completed. We also offer priority transfers for people in social housing, provided suitable alternative accommodation is available.

“For those who choose to stay, our extensive program to bring Oak Square to a high standard that both we and our residents are happy with will continue. We thank them for their patience and understanding over such a long period.”

It comes after locals told how burglars and creeps are climbing the scaffolding outside their tower block.

And others said they had not seen the sun in two years due to construction work on their home.

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