A look inside Ealing’s ‘worst’ estate
By Rory Bennett - Local Democracy Reporter
22nd Sep 2023 | Local News
Meath Court estate in Hope Gardens is considered by residents to be an estate filled with negligence, lawlessness, and violence.
Julian Bell, leader of Ealing Council in 2017, said when the multi-coloured shipping containers of Meath Court estate were unveiled that it was a "superb response" to a growing housing crisis.
He said: "I think Hope Gardens is the right name for this place because it really will provide hope for families who are in really challenging circumstances."
Families now living in the 60 unit estate have started to call the area "no Hope Gardens".
The homes were initially built as a stop gap for homeless families searching for a permanent place to stay with the aim that people would be there for no longer than six months.
After three trips to the estate, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) did not find a single person who had been living there for under half a year, with most having been there for more than a year.
Residents at Meath say it is not uncommon for Met Police officers to arrive daily at the estate and raid homes fortnightly.
A person who has lived there said crime is interwoven into the fabric of the estate.
They said: "You can't leave anything outside, (other residents/people who hang round the estate) will come and steal it.
"Sexual harassment is happening here. Which has happened to me. I was sexually harassed.
"Ealing Council is aware but didn't do anything about it. I had to cover my children's ears. I was shaking."
Meath Court is made up of two blocks of shipping containers which are separated by a courtyard.
LDRS has been told, there is a clear divide between the two blocks with one side mainly housing single mums with children and the other side mainly to single men, where the majority of police raids and alleged drug dealing take place.
A mum living there, who asked not to be named, said the experience has caused her mental health to plummet.
She said: "We are all messed up. I'm on medication. I'm depressed. I'm only happy that my children have a roof over their heads, nothing else."
Having lived on the more family-orientated side of the estate has meant that after living there for a year and eight months, the woman is involved with a small community of other mums who look after each other.
However, there are mums that live on the other side of the estate.
LDRS met mum-of-one, Fynlee Connor, who said it's impossible to hide the dark side of the estate from her child.
She said: "We have crackheads literally sitting on our stairs injecting themselves in broad daylight. My daughter came running out, saw it, came running back in, grabbed me and started pointing.
"I've had to start shouting at them to move. That's what we have to deal with even though there are little children living here.
"Near enough everyone on this floor has children but we are still mixed in with drug dealers, so we have all the violence."
Fynlee said she was brutally attacked outside her home and now feels extremely unsafe.
She said: "In March I was attacked, literally two more smacks and I would have been dead, while my daughter was sleeping inside."
She also said that no safety procedures have since been put in place.
"The gates don't work, there are no cameras, barely any lights to shine up the place," she added.
The lack of security extends to the communal laundry room, where several residents mentioned seeing people sleeping, washing, and taking drugs.
Fynlee shared her own unsettling experience of when someone defecated into her daughter's clothes in the laundry room and then "scattered them all over the garden".
The alleged lack of action by the council is a running theme when talking to residents with many repeating that they believe the council "doesn't care".
Nathalie Bangama ended up at Meath Court after her house caught fire last year.
The mum of three said she was initially told she had a two-bedroom flat she could move into and was sent to Meath Court.
"They put me in the containers," she said.
Nathalie added: "I'm like, 'what's going on? What is this place?' I have lived in Ealing for almost 15 years now. I didn't even know this place existed.
"They said this is a hostel, you are just going to stay here for a little bit and then we will give you a house."
After a year of living there, Nathalie said she has had enough.
She said: "Some days you wake up and go 'what is this? Like seriously what is this place?'
"I am from Congo and I say to you, I have never seen anything like this in Congo. I have never lived in a place like this in Congo, not this bad.
"This is not made for human beings. This place is a crime! I'm losing it, right now I am losing it because I don't know what to do.
"Nothing is right, something is missing, something is broken, the fridge is going to work today but tomorrow the fridge is not. Somehow the microwave stops working; I have had three 'ovens' break."
Nathalie said she hasn't had running water in her bathroom or kitchen sink for more than four weeks with no signs that anything will be fixed.
Nathalie has had to juggle single parenthood with all the challenges Meath Court creates every day.
Mel, another mum, has been collecting images and data on Meath Court for months.
She said within the first few weeks of her moving in she had seen armed police officers blocking the communal stairway as they raided a flat.
This was the very same stairway that she would slip on a couple of months later, severely spraining her ankle.
The walkways that connect different flats have been cited as a hazard by many mums on the upper floors due to having to carry prams, kids and bags up and down.
Mel said: "I (nearly) broke my ankle on those stairs. I was on crutches. I was taking out my rubbish and I slipped, and I heard my ankle snap.
"I was on crutches for two months. Until this day it's still not healed.
"Those stairs are lethal. If you have kids it's even worse because they fall over and get nasty cuts, especially with all the rust."
Mel said she has seen everything from men defecating in the open, to strangers having sex in the public bin area.
The mum of three cannot believe that the council charges around £370 a week in rent.
She commented: "£370 a week for a shipping container. That's crazy."
Mel also said her home got so hot this summer that her children got ill.
"I've avoided cooking because there is no ventilation and it's so hot we are having sandwiches," she added.
Mel has lived in Meath Court for two years and has had enough of the place and her landlords.
She said: "They are the worst council I have ever come across. When you call them they treat you like you are nothing, they are rude, they don't care.
"This is inhumane, it's disgusting and the fact that no one cares, it makes you feel like you are nothing.
"It's funny because this place is called Hope Gardens but where is the hope?"
Swalhana Islam added that her family is stuffed in a two-bedroom home infested with cockroaches.
She said that despite informing Ealing Council of the problem the issue continues.
She said: "They are everywhere. I have called Ealing Council, I've called the manager, they come here and put a little drop of something.
"I want to cry, it's too much for me.
"They are not doing anything. I have four kids, the kids can't sleep. I told them, the kids can't sleep, they are having nightmares. I have the school calling me telling me the kids are falling asleep in class. They see (cockroaches) crawling, how can they sleep?"
"The issue has been going on for six months and has not been fixed. I can't live like this. They haven't done anything to fix this.
"They don't care."
Eman Fahad lives with her husband and three children Fatima, four, Sultan, three and three-month-old baby Suliman.
She said: "I can't go to the washing machine alone. I have to go with my husband or my neighbour because it is dangerous."
Eman, whose husband works at Heathrow, says she is often terrified during the night and is unable to sleep.
She said fights, arguments, loud music and general anti-social behaviour are common in Meath Court.
The mum said she wants to leave whenever possible for her children's sake.
The family of five are squeezed into two narrow bedrooms with there is barely enough room for everyone to sleep believes Eman.
However, she has found the waiting list to get out to be very long with potentially years until they will be given somewhere permanent.
An Ealing Council spokesperson said: "We are sorry to hear about residents' experiences as told to the LDRS and are concerned about the quality of accommodation at Meath Court.
"We are seeking to deliver additional high-quality temporary accommodation solutions as fast as possible, but like most other London boroughs we have a chronic shortage of housing and we are facing a temporary accommodation emergency, with the market for temporary accommodation in London being completely broken.
"The council has also seen an increase in the number of households who are in urgent need of support with their housing, thanks to the cost-of-living crisis.
"In the last year, we have seen an increase of over 50 per cent in the number of households needing emergency B&B accommodation – that's an additional 100 households.
"While we always seek to support residents in need to the best of our ability, the council is not able to keep up with the demand for emergency accommodation and is now under extreme pressure."
The council added: "We strongly urge residents experiencing anti-social behaviour and problems with their homes to contact the council through the hostel officer directly, or by using the 'report it' telephone lines or digital forms.
"That means that we can rectify the issue as soon as possible. In the case of an emergency, always call 999."
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