TENANTS on a rundown Monmouth council housing estate claim they have been forgotten by council bosses. One tenant, who contacted The Beacon this week, said "Tenants are asking for a representative from the Council to meet them to discuss their concerns, but they are still waiting. "Perhaps the Council have forgotten that The Albion is here at all". Mindless vandalism, thefts and long standing damage to properties which should have been repaired - these were just some of the points raised by Caroline Brown, who lives on The Albion. Other tenants have contacted The Beacon to complain about the never-ending stream of incidents at night in the area. In the latest, reinforced strengthened glass panels were shattered just past midnight. "This is a block of flats where there are disabled people, children and pets, but it was not until 3pm the following day, after children had come home from school, that the damaged glass panels were replaced, after residents had themselves tried to make the area safe" said Caroline Brown. She referred to other incidents, with picnic tables and bicycles being stolen, vehicles damaged, tyres slashed, washing taken from the line and other laundry covered in "who knows what whilst still on the lines". She added "Just recently, at 6.30pm., two children saw a grown man openly relieving himself on the flower beds at The Albion. This is a regular occurrence, though not usually at this time of the evening". She said the tenants felt the Council had completely forgotten them. "There is so much needs doing, in the way of maintenance, that the tenants believe the Council has just washed their hands of it all. "We are continually being told the housing department is short staffed, or that this person or another has left the department. So what! Does this mean they have to live in unsatisfactory conditions?" Caroline Brown listed some of the issues which needed dealing with. The outside of flats were filthy and a healthy risk; there were cracks in balcony floors; balcony rails were rusty and wearing away; rubbish was continually piled up; toilets in properties weren't working properly and windows would not close. There were continual noise problems, caused mainly by the increase in heavy vehicles using the new bridge. "When you are passing this forgotten area of the town, do look skywards to the unique roof garden that has grown across the summer and continues to spread across the roof of the disabled bungalows" she urged Beacon readers. The final word came from another caller to The Beacon Office, who said "The Council are not interested in us nor our estate".
