Summerlee tenants live in fear of drunken vandals

Oct 7 2009 by Gordon Robertson, Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser

RESIDENTS in a Coatbridge street are living in fear of vile yobs who use their common close as a drinking den.

Number 2 Dryburgh Place in the Summerlee area of the town has been left stinking of urine and covered in graffiti.

Menacing neds sit on the stairs drinking while some of the householders cower in their bedrooms.

Some residents are too frightened to put on their hall lights in case it provokes a violent reaction.

The close does not have a secure door entry system which is believed to be the root of the problem.

But the council say they won’t install one because two of the six properties in the block are owner occupied and the owners won’t agree to pay for it.

The Advertiser was contacted by a former community councillor who told us of the shameful litany of anti-social behaviour that led to one tenant saying: “I am a nervous wreck.”

Raging Bernie Fisher said: “What the people who live in this close have to put up with is an absolute disgrace.

“They are living in fear in their own homes and that is quite frankly unacceptable.

“What is needed is a door entry system that works and keeps these troublemakers out.

“The fact that there are two house owners there doesn’t mean that the other four tenants there don’t have rights.

“The amount of money the council are having to pay for constant repairs would be saved if they put security doors in there.

“If they don’t put them there the place will just get used as a blackboard and attract trouble.”

The close is believed to be used as a place to hang out for neds waiting to get into a well-known drinking den round the corner in nearby Corsewall Street.

The Advertiser has been told that local drinkers and drug users regularly take advantage of a man living on his own who lets them use his home.

And because they can gain easy access to 2 Dryburgh Place they can hang out there until the man comes home.

It is a corner of despair for some of the families who live there.

One young mum’s front door was urinated against and a moron tried to set fire to another tenant’s home by reaching through the letter box with a lighter.

Drug paraphernalia and empty Buckfast bottles have been found lying in the close.

When we visited the close last week we could see burn marks on the ceiling and evidence of vandalism despite the fact that the close has recently been painted.

North Lanarkshire Council are aware of the problems the residents are facing but say that they are not willing to pay for an adequate door entry system until the two property owners agree to pay their share.

Jamie Pettigrew, Coatbridge service delivery manager with the council’s housing service, said: “We’ve been working with the residents of this block, and with the local police, to address the problem.

“Community wardens are patrolling the area, the estate caretaker is paying weekly visits, the housing advisor for the area and Anti Social Task Force (ASTF) investigators have been visiting tenants to monitor the situation and patrolling the area in the evenings to try to deter troublemakers and alert police at the first signs of disturbance.

“So far we have been unable to install a security entry system to the communal entry, because there are owner-occupiers in the building unable to afford their share of the cost. At present we can’t proceed with such work without their agreement.

“However, we are looking at alternative ways of introducing a security system and will keep residents informed of progress. In the meantime we will continue to offer all possible advice and support.

“Disturbances can be reported to the local area housing office on 01236 812590 or to the ASTF standby service on 01236 638580; to the local police station on 01236 505100, or to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.”