Plans to close 14 communal laundries serving 20 blocks of flats have been put on hold after an outcry from council tenants worried that they were being hung out to dry.
Tenants rely on the communal laundries because they cannot have washing machines in their flats in the blocks in question. Nor are they even allowed to dry clothes in their homes because of the risk of mould.
Brighton and Hove City Council sent letters to several vulnerable residents last week, as well as to councillors, saying that 14 laundries would close by the end of November.
But today (Monday 7 September) the council said that it had paused the plans and would speak with tenant representatives, resident associations and others about the proposals.
Most of the laundries serve 1960s tower blocks in the centre of Brighton, Kemp Town, Whitehawk and Hollingdean, with a few others in low-rise blocks in Hove, Hollingbury and Hanover.
The original building plans did not allow space to plumb in modern washing machines and residents are not allowed to dry their clothes in their flats to prevent mould.
The council carried out a laundry survey more than three years ago and tenants have been waiting for the results ever since, regularly asking about progress at council housing management panel meetings.
At one panel meeting in June, residents in the centre of Brighton were told that the results should have been presented to the council’s cabinet in March this year.
The letter sent out by the council’s housing customer services team last week said that 1,688 households were permitted to use the 14 laundries but only 8 per cent of them did so – or 135 households.
One tenant said that this was because the laundries were poorly maintained, so unreliable and repairs took so long that she and her neighbours often had no choice but to go elsewhere. Her comments echoed those made at a panel meeting earlier this year.
Conservative councillor Alistair McNair was shocked to receive the email and was concerned about the effect on residents in Stanmer Heights, in Hollingbury, because many relied on the laundry in Orchard View.
He said: “You would not have expected this from a Labour administration who you would have thought would be keen to protect services for social housing and vulnerable residents.
“Now we’re informed the decision has been put on hold until officers meet with tenant reps. This is clearly an acknowledgement that the decision has been made far too hastily, like many decisions this administration makes.”
Councillor McNair said that the laundries were a vital service and threatening closure in the cold winter months had left people worried because there were no laundrettes close to Stanmer Heights.
Essex Place resident Emma Salcombe chairs the “central area” housing management panel. Her block shares a laundry with Warwick Mount, also in Montague Street, Brighton. She was shocked when she heard second-hand about the closure plans.
She said that she was “inundated” with phone calls when the news started reaching people and had received an apology from the council.
When contacting the council, Ms Salcombe said that there would be a risk of fires and floods in flats if people who could afford it started buying washing machines and tumble dryers.
She said: “Central would be one of the worst-affected areas because we do have the most laundry rooms, unfortunately.
“They’ve got to go back and look at everything again, look at the impacts and have a proper consultation.
“I will give the council this, from being informed this is not the right way to go about it, this is one of the quickest turnarounds I’ve ever seen them do.”
Ms Salcombe said that the council assured her that those who had been sent a closure letter would receive another letter about the pause.
The council said: “We have paused plans to not renew the contract for communal laundries currently serving some of our housing blocks.
“This is to allow for further communication with those residents impacted.
“We apologise that residents have not been updated as regularly as we planned to and recognise this will have been unsettling for some. We will be in contact shortly.
“We will also meet with the co-chairs of our area panels, relevant tenant representatives and resident associations and further engage with those who use the laundries to more clearly explain the proposals and the arrangements for those impacted before any final decision is made.”
The housing management panels are where tenant and leaseholder reps meet councillors and council officials to discuss housing issues.
The panels divide Brighton and Hove into four areas – north, east, central and west – and all four are due to meet this week and next.
Labour should be tough on grime and tough on the causes of grime! Instead, we can expect more spin in keeping with the fraying fabric of a once-great party. Yet again, it’s the poorest and most vulnerable being hung out on the line. Given where these flats are, it’s almost as if Labour want to lose not just the coming by-election, but the all-out local elections next May.
Labour. The party that keeps on taking.