The background
On 8 June 2020 residents of 13 Atkins Square received letters warning of a fire risk to the block. Other blocks in the new builds around Pembury Circus / Atkins Square have been tested for fire risks but Peabody have so far not disclosed the results of those tests.
The residents and leaseholders of 13 Atkins Square wrote to Peabody to demand information on the safety of their homes, and the steps that Peabody are going to take. They also demanded that no costs would be passed onto them by Peabody for Peabody and their builder Bellway’s failure to safely construct the buildings. Residents of 3 and 10 Atkins Square also wrote to Peabody in similar terms.
Peabody have refused to comply with any of the residents’ demands.
Peabody are now refusing to engage with the Residents’ Association on fire safety issues on Pembury Circus. The Residents’ Association is therefore referring the issue to the Housing Ombudsman.
The letters to and from Peabody are below:
Letter from Peabody to residents (notifying us of the risks), 8 June 2020:
Letter from the Residents’ Association on behalf of 13 Atkins Square residents and leaseholders (setting out residents’ concerns), 7 July 2020:
Letter from the Residents’ Association on behalf of 10 Atkins Square (Block C) residents and leaseholders (setting out residents’ concerns), 14 July 2020:
Letter from the Residents’ Association on behalf of 3 Atkins Square residents and leaseholders (setting out residents’ concerns), 15 July 2020:
Letter from Peabody to the residents of 13 Atkins Square (refusing all demands for information or assistance), 20 July 2020:
“Building Safety Record” accompanying the letter of 20 July 2020 to residents of 13 Atkins Square:
Letter from Peabody to the residents of 10 Atkins Square (Block C) (refusing all demands for information or assistance), 22 July 2020:
Letter from Peabody to the residents of 3 Atkins Square (refusing all demands for information or assistance), 24 July 2020:
Letter from the Residents’ Association on behalf of 13 Atkins Square residents and leaseholders (noting that Peabody’s reply is inadequate), 28 July 2020:
Letter from Peabody to the residents of 13 Atkins Square (failing to engage with the letter of 28 July 2020), 4 August 2020:
On 6 August 2020 a meeting took place via Zoom, attended by Tara Agarwal (Director of Building Safety), Emma Comer (Head of New Homes and Qality), and Claire Cooper (Head of Home Ownership). Minutes of the meeting, and a full recording of it, can be obtained by residents by contacting the Secretary of the Residents’ Association.
Letter from the Residents’ Association on behalf of 13 Atkins Square residents and leaseholders (following up on the meeting on 6 August 2020, with all unanswered questions), 7 August 2020:
Letter from Peabody to the residents of 13 Atkins Square (reneging on their commitment made at the meeting on 6 August 2020 to disclose legal advice they had received), 12 August 2020:
Letter from the Residents’ Association on behalf of 13 Atkins Square residents and leaseholders (relating to Peabody reneging on their commitment made on 6 August 2020 to disclose legal advice they had received), 14 August 2020:
Letter from Peabody to the residents of 13 Atkins Square (answering some questions that the residents had asked them about the Fire Risk Assessment), 25 August 2020:
Letter from the Residents’ Association on behalf of 13 Atkins Square residents and leaseholders (noting that Peabody had not answered many of the residents’ questions about the Fire Risk Assessment), 26 August 2020:
Letter from the Residents’ Association on behalf of 10 Atkins Square (Block C) residents and leaseholders (noting the failure to engage with their concerns), 1 September 2020:
Emails from Peabody to the Residents’ Association (stating that they would no longer engage with the fire safety issues raised by residents of 13 Atkins Square and would not identify the flats that did not have the new fire alarm system installed), 6 September 2020:
Letter from Peabody to the Residents’ Association (refusing to engage with residents, reneging on their commitments to disclose material, and making false claims about a Tribunal application against leaseholders of 13 Atkins Square), 10 September 2020:
Letter from the Residents’ Association on behalf of residents and leaseholders at 13 Atkins Square (replying to the emails of 6 September 2020 noting that Peabody had refused to engage, and that the matter would be referred to the Housing Ombudsman), 11 September 2020:
Email from Peabody to the Residents’ Association (ignoring the content of all previous correspondence, and stating a Stage 1 complaint would be logged), 11 September 2020:
Letter from the Residents’ Association on behalf of the residents and leaseholders of 13 Atkins Square to Peabody (noting that the complaint should be at Stage 2), 14 September 2020:
Letter from Peabody to the Residents’ Association (ignoring the content of the complaint and the content of all previous correspondence), 2 October 2020:
Letter from the Residents’ Association’s Chair to Peabody (requiring the complaint regarding the treatment of 13 Atkins Square progresses to Stage Two of the Complaints Process), 5 October 2020:
Letter from Pebaody to the Residents’ Association (completing Stage 2 of the complaints process and clearing themselves of any wrongdoing in relation to 13 Atkins Square), 30 October 2020:
Pembury Estate Residents' Association 