Residents in battle to improve living conditions on estate

RESIDENTS have spoken of their horror of black mould appearing in their homes in South Yorkshire.

Now they are leading a campaign for better living standards on the Little London estate in Maltby near Rotherham.

“I have nightmares about black mould,” Denise McBride, a grandmother who lives on the estate said.

She suffers from sinus problems which she says are from using caustic chemicals to clean the mould from her window frames, ceiling and skirting boards, in an attempt to make her home safe for her twoyear-old grandson, Oliver.

Ms McBride, a former prison worker, is one of the residents leading the fight for improvements. She has lived in her home, overlooking two blocks of derelict houses for almost eight years, and is the chair of Big Power for Little London, a residents’ group set up this year in a bid to better conditions for those living on the estate.

She hopes that one day, the derelict blocks will be demolished, and a community green space built in its place. The flat-roof houses, made of porous concrete, were not built to last the 80 years they have stood in Maltby.

They were built during the Second World War to house workers in a nearby munitions factory who moved up from Enfield in London.

“When we moved in, we were told there were plans to get it sorted out, and it’s never materialised,” says Ms McBride.

“It’s just so depressing. It’s causing all of us mental health issues and depression – it’s affecting children.”

She points to a wooden fence with panels missing that leads to the derelicts, which is what the residents call two blocks of empty homes, used as a goal for football-playing children. She said: “The kids play football there because they’ve nowhere else to play. If they kick the ball and it goes over, the kids are going round the back of here, where there are rats and glass.”

After her son told her that he did not want to raise his child in the area, she felt that she needed to take action.

The Big Power for Little London

Group is hosting a film screening on Tuesday, highlighting the conditions on the estate, at 6pm.

Coun Adam Tinsley, who represents the Maltby ward, called for action at a full council meeting of Rotherham Council. He told the public meeting that the council had tried to use its compulsory purchase powers to buy the homes but had “failed”.

Chris Read, leader of Rotherham Council, said the authority is working with residents for a long-term solution. He added that additional property inspections, along with measures to tackle rats are ongoing.