I was very honoured last week to have been invited by the residents of Kirkstone Lodge, a sheltered housing unit on Isleworth's Ivybridge estate, to a tea party organised by the occupants of the unit and supported by Hounslow Homes and the staff at the unit.
When I was Lead Member for Housing I was forever concerned about the future of dwellings such as this one. The threat of reductions in funding always loomed, and there was a constant feeling that the units were being "phased out". Many feel that the communal WCs and other throwbacks to a bygone age render the dwellings obsolete, and unattractive to potential tenants.
The mistake that is often made though is to confuse sheltered housing with care housing and to consider the occupants to be housebound and in need of permanent care. One resident of Kirkstone Lodge laughed as she related to me how somebody had asked her "Do they let you out at night?"
The tenants at Kirkstone Lodge are assertive, intelligent and well-organised. A couple of years ago I guided several of them as they won a Stage Three complaint against Hounslow Homes which was heard before a Members' Panel. The complainants felt they had not been taken seriously enough when they had objected to certain aspects of the regime under which they were living, and following an articulate presentation by one of their number the Panel agreed.
I enjoyed my afternoon with these residents thoroughly, and the tea and strawberry cake which they insisted I drank and ate in some quantity.
Another strong community in the tradition that Isleworth has developed over recent years.
From the Independent Community Group website
Not content with our recent success in securing £550k of community funding as part of the recent budget the ICG was busy securing even more funding (over £16,000 in fact) for community groups and residents in Isleworth, this time by way of small grants and capital grants through the Isleworth and Brentford Area Committee (IBAC).
At the IBAC meeting on 18 March 2010 there were several applications for funding across the 4 wards the committee represents and we are delighted to announce the following allocations:£6,000 for new school signs in South Street which will benefit the pupils and parents/carers of 3 schools
£3,000 for Kirkstone Lodge to improve the gardens
£4,455 for Isleworth Bowls Club to install state-of-the-art disabled facilities
£1,000 for St. George's Day celebrations on the Ivybridge estate
£500 for St. George's Day celebrations at the Isleworth Royal British legion
£500 for the Isleworth Somali Association to run community cohesion workshops
£250 for the Ivybridge Junior Rangers
£300 for the Bridgelink Stay and Play scheme on the Ivybridge estate
£500 for the The Friends of Isleworth Public Hall to fund the annual outing of the Thursday Club
Speaking after the meeting ICG Councillor Paul Fisher said: "It gives me a great deal of pleasure to support these worthy applications for funding and it is a real boost to see so many residents benefiting from the hard work of these wonderful organisations."
This morning I visited the Wynne Court sheltered housing unit in Hartland Road, Isleworth as the guest of three residents who had some repairs and maintenance issues to report.
Sheltered units are difficult to let out these days as people's expectations have changed since the 1970s, when many of them were built. Even at Butlin's hotels, in those days, it was perfectly acceptable to expect guests from different family units to share a bathroom and a WC but in this day and age it is considered one of the least attractive features of these small but tidy housing units. As a consequence of this they are not in as great demand as the rest of our housing stock.
What has always struck me about these places (we have four such establishments within a stretch of about a mile and a half in Isleworth and Syon wards, from Kirkstone Lodge to Danehurst) is not only the sheer dedication of the staff who manage them, but also the pride which the residents take in the appearance and general ambience of their dwellings.
During today's visit I was directed to a pathway which had become littered with the discarded fruit of a fig tree. "Usually we sweep it up ourselves every morning," one of the residents told me. "We just left it there this morning for you to see."
Bingo and social clubs, coffee mornings and outings are often also features of life in the sheltered unit.
The stigma of these dwellings being homes for "old people" is well wide of the mark. Some of the residents are indeed "old" in every sense, of course, but many others remain socially active and help to inspire a very real sense of community amongst their fellow residents. Until not very long ago our sheltered units were available to applicants over 55 years of age, which would have given me about another eight and a half years before I became eligible for one!
There is a lot the rest of us could learn from Wynne Court and other, similar establishments when it comes to maintaining a sense of community.
