A tenant has slammed his estate's housing association for failing to act on concerns about lighting and safety.

James Shanks, who has lived at The Guinness Partnership estate in Hackney for almost four years, claims he has raised issues about poor lighting on the estate, but nothing has been done.

He said that residents have been “screaming out for better lighting for ages” as the estate is poorly lit at night, posing a safety risk to children.

The Hackney Gazette reported last week that people living at the Stamford Hill estate, which is opposite James’ estate, had recently secured new lighting.

James said: “I’ve seen what they’ve done across the road and that’s beautiful, that really is impressive. [In comparison] we're the dark, dingy hole.”

Hackney Gazette: A resident at The Guinness Partnership estate would like to see better lightingA resident at The Guinness Partnership estate would like to see better lighting (Image: James Shanks)

This paper has also seen an email thread that shows another resident on the estate complained to the housing association about the lighting as long ago as 2016.

They told The Guinness Partnership that the lights at the estate are often on during the day and asked them to rectify this, fearing residents would be charged for the electricity.

The housing association admitted to the resident that “there was, and still is an issue with the lighting” coming on during the day as recently as February 2023.

James also said he was worried about the safety of the children’s playground at the estate, claiming that it’s an “absolute tip” and no longer safe.

Hackney Gazette: A resident is concerned about the state of the playground at The Guinness Partnership estateA resident is concerned about the state of the playground at The Guinness Partnership estate (Image: James Shanks)

He added that he was fearful of what he called “the broken window effect” taking hold. He said: “When you go to an area and you see a couple of broken windows and it looks uncared for… [that] brings crime and anti-social behaviour”.

The Guinness Partnership apologised to James and offered him £55 compensation in April, having found that he “experienced poor communication” when he tried to discuss his concerns.

A spokesperson for The Guinness Partnership said: “We have had reports from one of our residents that estate lighting is operating during the day as well as the night – however we have no record of concerns raised about the adequacy of estate lighting at night. 

“Following your enquiry, we will be visiting the estate after dark to assess whether additional lighting may be required.

“We carried out repairs to the playground in June.  Subsequent to this it appears further damage has been caused to the playground.  We will be carrying out further works to the playground. 

“We have not been advised by our qualified playground inspection company that the playground should be closed in the meantime, however we will review our position on this with the specialist contractor.”