The recent controversy over felled trees at Adastral Village is the latest in a long line of issues on the estate, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Adastral Village and (inset) Andreas Ioannidis

Councillors have weighed in on a residents’ fight with a housing association and a property management company accused of hoarding control and mismanaging an estate.

Colindale North councillor Andreas Ioannidis said landlord Notting Hill Genesis (NHG) and property management company BLR had not treated residents of Adastral Village “correctly”.

Trees on the 320-home Colindale estate were suddenly felled in May when contractors from BLR turned up, with residents describing the move as “unprofressional” and “destructive”.

However, residents said this was one of many examples of mismanagement and that they have fought for years to be a part of decision-making on the estate, but have been blocked.

Explaining the history, Cllr Ioannidis said NHG had created a residents’ management company (RMC) to run the estate but there were “no residents on that committee” and residents who had attempted to join “were ignored”.

The RMC, called Adastral Village South Residents Ltd, is currently dormant and contact details lead to BLR.

Cllr Ionnidis said NHG should have followed up concerns from residents about the RMC and the lack of service and communication from BLR.

He said: “BLR has many one-star reviews on Google. Residents have complained to me that they have ignored their complaints and refused to meet with them. The recent tree works are appalling and were done to disastrous effect without even consulting the residents.”

Cllr Ionnidis said NHG had given the impression, confusingly, that the blame for the issues lay with the RMC itself, but he questioned why the housing association had put the responsibility of the estate’s management on a “dormant RMC”.

Following a recent meeting with residents, Colindale South councillor Humayune Khalick said: “I was shocked by the level of dissatisfaction the residents had and the duration and range of priority issues.

“Management agents [service companies], in general, have a low satisfaction rating from residents, but this was far worse than is usual.”

Resident Fiona Cameron said: “It’s disingenuous for NHG to [claim] residents can join the RMC when they know full well we’ve been complaining for over 15 years that there are no RMC meetings, no minutes, and all resident requests to join it have been ignored by the director John Galliers [BLR’s director].

“This totally goes against the structure that was set up and breaks the tripartite leases we have in place with NHG.”

In response an NHG spokesperson said: “It is common practice in many estates for a RMC to be written into the lease. The intention is for residents to be involved in the management of the estate and they can have a say through regular meetings.

“We understand residents have been unhappy with the running of the estate. We take their concerns seriously and are taking legal advice to find a way to ensure residents are able to participate in the RMC. There are some restrictions which we are trying to navigate but we want to assure residents that we are trying our best to find a solution that meets everyone’s needs.”

BLR were approached for comment.

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