A Ballardian nightmare is underway at the Balfron Tower in east London, where London Centric spoke to disabled residents who have been stranded without working lifts for a week.
I guess having the first two comments being "why does he have a dog" and "why has not the building been demolished" shows how much London Centric has reached the mainstream media. Or at least reddit. Congrats for that.
The whole building should have been knocked down. "Refurbishment" is sadly often a myth used by NIMBYs to prevent change. The building's architectural heritage is, imo, limited -- and there's a pressing need to demolish and rebuild better.
Fortunately you are not the judge of architectural heritage. It's an iconic building and arguably built to a better standard accommodation vs newer build developments.
Because the developer can't maintain 2 lifts? Surely that's not all that's going on here, is there something I'm missing which would justify knocking the whole thing down?
Why does he have a dog in a flat?! That's terrible. It's unfortunate, but lifts do break, and the company doesn't give a shit about you once you're in. You have to factor this stuff in when you move somewhere...
More than half the households in London are living in flats, according to the 2021 census stats -- not that surprising if a decent number of those have dogs
I'm sorry but that's a mental thing to say. You don't get to choose the most ideal living circumstances, and regardless of them having a dog or not, they can't use stairs! I'm sick to death of blaming the elderly and infirm for their misfortune when land ghouls do everything in their power to not spend a dime on maintenance and then expect us all to pay them for the pleasure of breathing in mold spores and, in extreme cases, become trapped in their own homes.
Nice whataboutism. It's rude to judge others on presumed information. A quick google shows these 3 bed flats are a larger square footage than your average UK house.
It's quite clear the residents should have been provided alternative accomodation as they are literally trapped in their flats and will choke or burn to death if a fire breaks out. That is the point.
My understanding is that if there is a fire you should *not* use the lifts (and some lifts will return to ground and lock down if alarm is triggered).
Anyone unable to use stairs should be evacuated with a special chair down the stairs by an able bodied person or emergency personnel. The chair should be provided as part of buildings safety equipment, likely minimum one per floor/staircase
I'm sorry but that's a mental thing to say. You don't get to choose the most ideal living circumstances, and regardless of them having a dog or not, they can't use stairs! I'm sick to death of blaming the elderly and infirm for their misfortune when land ghouls do everything in their power to not spend a dime on maintenance and then expect us all to pay them for the pleasure of breathing in mold spores and, in extreme cases, become trapped in their own homes.
I'm sorry but that's a mental thing to say. You don't get to choose the most ideal living circumstances, and regardless of them having a dog or not, they can't use stairs! I'm sick to death of blaming the elderly and infirm for their misfortune when land ghouls do everything in their power to not spend a dime on maintenance and then expect us all to pay them for the pleasure of breathing in mold spores and, in extreme cases, become trapped in their own homes.
I'm sorry but that's a mental thing to say. You don't get to choose the most ideal living circumstances, and regardless of them having a dog or not, they can't use stairs! I'm sick to death of blaming the elderly and infirm for their misfortune when land ghouls do everything in their power to not spend a dime on maintenance and then expect us all to pay them for the pleasure of breathing in mold spores and, in extreme cases, become trapped in their own homes.
Rather stunning, given the TENS of MILLIONS of pounds spent on this extensive fully-scaffolded refurb, that any of the dodgy and dated lift components remained! At minimum the motors and controller circuitry (and cables and safety brakes) should be all new, WTF, over?
I guess having the first two comments being "why does he have a dog" and "why has not the building been demolished" shows how much London Centric has reached the mainstream media. Or at least reddit. Congrats for that.
HURRAH! VINDICATION AT LAST.
The whole building should have been knocked down. "Refurbishment" is sadly often a myth used by NIMBYs to prevent change. The building's architectural heritage is, imo, limited -- and there's a pressing need to demolish and rebuild better.
Fortunately you are not the judge of architectural heritage. It's an iconic building and arguably built to a better standard accommodation vs newer build developments.
Because the developer can't maintain 2 lifts? Surely that's not all that's going on here, is there something I'm missing which would justify knocking the whole thing down?
and what about the people who live there?
Why does he have a dog in a flat?! That's terrible. It's unfortunate, but lifts do break, and the company doesn't give a shit about you once you're in. You have to factor this stuff in when you move somewhere...
More than half the households in London are living in flats, according to the 2021 census stats -- not that surprising if a decent number of those have dogs
I'm sorry but that's a mental thing to say. You don't get to choose the most ideal living circumstances, and regardless of them having a dog or not, they can't use stairs! I'm sick to death of blaming the elderly and infirm for their misfortune when land ghouls do everything in their power to not spend a dime on maintenance and then expect us all to pay them for the pleasure of breathing in mold spores and, in extreme cases, become trapped in their own homes.
Nice whataboutism. It's rude to judge others on presumed information. A quick google shows these 3 bed flats are a larger square footage than your average UK house.
It's quite clear the residents should have been provided alternative accomodation as they are literally trapped in their flats and will choke or burn to death if a fire breaks out. That is the point.
My understanding is that if there is a fire you should *not* use the lifts (and some lifts will return to ground and lock down if alarm is triggered).
Anyone unable to use stairs should be evacuated with a special chair down the stairs by an able bodied person or emergency personnel. The chair should be provided as part of buildings safety equipment, likely minimum one per floor/staircase
I'm sorry but that's a mental thing to say. You don't get to choose the most ideal living circumstances, and regardless of them having a dog or not, they can't use stairs! I'm sick to death of blaming the elderly and infirm for their misfortune when land ghouls do everything in their power to not spend a dime on maintenance and then expect us all to pay them for the pleasure of breathing in mold spores and, in extreme cases, become trapped in their own homes.
Just signed up to say piss off.
I'm sorry but that's a mental thing to say. You don't get to choose the most ideal living circumstances, and regardless of them having a dog or not, they can't use stairs! I'm sick to death of blaming the elderly and infirm for their misfortune when land ghouls do everything in their power to not spend a dime on maintenance and then expect us all to pay them for the pleasure of breathing in mold spores and, in extreme cases, become trapped in their own homes.
I'm sorry but that's a mental thing to say. You don't get to choose the most ideal living circumstances, and regardless of them having a dog or not, they can't use stairs! I'm sick to death of blaming the elderly and infirm for their misfortune when land ghouls do everything in their power to not spend a dime on maintenance and then expect us all to pay them for the pleasure of breathing in mold spores and, in extreme cases, become trapped in their own homes.
Rather stunning, given the TENS of MILLIONS of pounds spent on this extensive fully-scaffolded refurb, that any of the dodgy and dated lift components remained! At minimum the motors and controller circuitry (and cables and safety brakes) should be all new, WTF, over?
Hi Rachel - we have a similar situation in the Stratford Eye building. We only have one lift and it keeps breaking down.
Any chance you can help to get our voice heard? thank you!