So, like, this fancy new building called Kelso Cochrane House in North Kensington got opened up in May 2024, and the Kensington and Chelsea council was all proud of it. They said it was a shining example of how social housing can make neighborhoods in London all healthy and prosperous. It was the first bunch of social homes approved after that Grenfell disaster scare, and the first council homes that popped up in the area in like forever. There were 38 flats in there, all part of this New Homes Programme the council had going on to build 600 affordable homes after Grenfell.
But, man, things didn’t go as smooth as they hoped. Some issues with the plumbing system started popping up, leaving residents without heating or hot water. People living there started complaining about all sorts of stuff – mold, leaks, mice running around, even a dodgy fire alarm that wouldn’t quit making noise. And get this, the front door wouldn’t even lock properly. Like, how are you supposed to feel safe in there?
Yolande, one of the residents, moved in with her granddaughter last July after waiting on the housing list for three whole years. She was all fed up with the place, especially since she had health issues and needed hot water to stay comfortable. And when the heating stopped working in the winter, she had to rely on electric heaters, which made her electricity bill shoot up like crazy. The poor lady had to bathe using water from her kitchen sink because her shower was ice cold.
Chris, another dude living there, had his own set of problems. He had to rig up his own shower just to get hot water and waited forever for the heating to get fixed. His family had to wear coats indoors during winter because it was so cold. And don’t even get me started on the faulty fire alarm that kept going off all the time. It was such a mess.
