Don’t leave these folk to live in misery

Regarding your article about the “ Scrooge landlord” leaving Holloway elderly out in the cold (Gazette, December 9), a similar sheltered housing scheme owned by Circle Anglia in Islington has also been fraught with problems. Cope House has had its own share of infestions, such as mice and bedbugs.

In fact, my mother was blocking a hospital bed for two months as an Islington environmental health officer deemed her flat to be unsafe for her to return home.

She did return home as she could not stand being in hospital any longer – although these problem still had not been dealt with by the landlord.

nearly a year later, my mother’s flat is still in a similar condition. She continually expresses that she feels unsafe as there are individuals walking around inside the block at night making noise and tapping on her door.

Circle Anglia are housing mental health patients who are in need of supported housing instead of sheltered housing which is more specialised and more costly. This policy of letting others live at Cope House has been shown to be a problem as the police had felt the need to do a drugs raid in Cope House.

Why is there not a sense of outrage that this is happening to vulnerable adults in Islington? Four councillors from two parties and two administrations have found Circle Anglia lacking but they still demonise those who are blowing the whistle and continue to ignore the concerns of primary carers and families.

I would like an explanation of why this situation has been allowed to continue.

Councillor Gallagher’s maiden speech did a good job in highlighting many of these concerns and it would be a shame if these problems were allowed to continue. – George Topping, Coltash Court, Whitecross Street, EC1.