The Lillington and Longmoore

COUNCIL estate residents say life has become “unbearable” as plumbing issues cause homes to be flooded with scalding-hot water and sewage, lifts break down, and the heating system constantly breaks.

Lillington Gardens Estate in Pimlico was built between 1964 and 1972 and was immediately recognised with a slew of awards including from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

It was expanded to include the Longmoore Estate in 1980 and given a Grade II-star listing by Historic England in December 2000.

Local Democracy Reporting Service visited the estate, now called Lillington and Longmoore Gardens, over a number of weeks and heard from residents including Nicholas Barry, whose first-floor flat in Morgan House was flooded with scalding-hot water in October last year, then his balcony was flooded with sewage twice this year.

The 58-year-old said: “All the residents on the landing, they were just so supportive.

Resident Nicholas Barry

“I had one resident on the second floor bring me down a camping chair to sit on outside my flat.

“Within an hour I was balling my eyes out at what had happened to my living room and bathroom.”

Mr Barry said the council refurbished his flat and eventually compensated him with £3,500.
But in January he had sewage “backing up” onto his balcony after using his toilet and it took Westminster City Council five days to clean the mess up, he said.

Mr Barry was also bed-ridden at the time due a back problem. He said his carers bought air fresheners but they helped “only a little bit”.

He said: “It smelt like urine and faeces. It was unpleasant. It was unbearable. I literally had to close my window and door for five whole days.”

Six weeks later Mr Barry’s balcony flooded with sewage for a second time.

He was told wet wipes had caused both spillages by blocking the system. But he said he doesn’t use wipes. “I’m in fear 24/7. I don’t know what’s going to happen next. I feel when it does happen again, I’m not going to get the council’s support.”

“Stan”, from Morgan House, also said lifts in his block constantly break down.

He said: “When the lifts do work, you need to wait a while but when one stops working, it’s a nightmare.”

It comes as a Freedom of Information request submitted by LDRS found the estate had one of the highest rates of plumbing repair requests over a five-year period across all council estates.

According to the city council, it responded within its emergency repair timescales and Mr Barry was supported by staff at the time.

Labour Westminster councillor Liza Begum, the cabinet member for housing services, said: “We take the claims made by residents seriously and have apologised for any stress and inconvenience caused.

“The council has a thorough complaints process, and we work hard to address all problems raised as quickly as possible.

“We know that there is a recurring issue with leaks across the estate that is causing disruption for residents.

“This is due to an ageing communal hot water and heating system that needs to be replaced and we’re working towards finding a more efficient, reliable and sustainable option.”