South East London residents have been left reliving the horrors of a house fire that took the life of a woman, claims a councillor, as the house has still not been repaired. The home on Alderwood Road in Eltham caught fire on September 30, 2022, and led to a woman dying, as well as a man and child being hospitalised.
The incident destroyed half of the ground floor and most of the first floor of the mid-terraced house, as well as stripping away much of the roof.
Conservative Councillor Pat Greenwell, representing the Eltham Town and Avery Hill ward, said that pigeons were now living in the derelict roof of the home and the house was continuing to have an impact on the mental well-being of locals.
The councillor said at a Greenwich Council meeting on March 27: “This building is derelict. Here we are a year on, it hasn’t got a roof. It’s awful, it looks like something out of a horror book and each time the residents come out, it brings it back. The awful tragic incident where somebody was killed in the fire.”
She asked if the council could take action to resolve the issue, despite the building being privately owned. A resident living on Alderwood Road, who wished to remain anonymous, said her family had only moved to the street a week before the incident.
The local said: “Since then, people just keep dumping trash in front of the house. There are a lot of birds, sometimes I’ve even seen foxes on the roof. It’s crazy, we have a lot of animals and over time I can just see it getting worse and worse.”
Labour Councillor Pat Slattery, cabinet member for housing and neighbourhoods, offered her condolences and sympathy to the residents of Alderwood Road and was aware of fly-tipping outside the house following the event. She said in her written response that nuisances from feral pigeons can be reported to the council’s environmental health team.
Cllr Slattery said at the meeting: “It’s not a council home. I can’t in all conscience spend tenants’ rent on helping with private accommodation… I do understand that it’s a constant reminder but I do think certainly my powers as a cabinet member for housing are limited in that area.”
–
Pictures: The house on Alderwood Road has remained damaged since the fire in September 2022. Credit: Joe Coughlan
