24-HOUR security has been put in place at the Chips building in New Islington after a spate of burglaries, car crime and damage.
It is reassuring to have the security guard sat in the entrance hall but it would also be a deterrent to have better CCTV and to be honest better security measures should have been built in in the first place.
Returning home to find your apartment door kicked in, cars parked in the underground car park with windows smashed and kids running amok letting off the fire extinguishers is not what you expect when you live in a Will Alsop designed Urban Splash building.
It’s not what you expect in any building to be honest.
Add in problems with the CHP boiler which left residents without hot water and heating for lengthy periods in winter and the residents began to feel they were under siege.
Individual calls to the management company RMG and Urban Splash, including to Jonathan Faulkner direct, did not getting much of a response. Incidents were logged and the community police called round but it was only when they joined forces on Facebook that they seemed to be taken seriously. The power of social media.
I joined the group and when I invited residents to write to me directly I had responses within minutes cataloguing a whole litany of problems, many to do with the quality of the build and the fixtures and fittings.
There was anger too at the abandoned decay of the surrounding area which one described as “being built on false promises” and the delay in opening a footbridge and the park.
The Chips are down
But still, back to security.
In one particularly unsettling spree three apartments were broken into in one day and several cars were found surrounded by smashed glass. More worryingly perhaps, many of the apartments cannot be individually alarmed as the sensors between door and frame do not match up.
RMG met with residents last week and have agreed to a series of measures including recalling all the current key-fobs and re-issuing as the fear is that people outside the building have a couple in their possession so come and go as they please.
Residents also want doors putting on each of the floors accessible only to residents who live on that level and they want better security on the underground car park. Apparently all you have to do now is push a button and you are in.
Until this is done RMG are employing security guards to patrol the building round the clock, to ensure only residents get access and to keep watch on the car park.
Residents feel reassured but are concerned that the cost of round the clock security will come out of the maintenance charges.
One who was at the meeting said: “There were two people there from RMG and they listened to our complaints but they didn’t seem to be making notes of what they agreed and they could not give any sort of timescale.
“It is reassuring to have the security guard sat in the entrance hall but it would also be a deterrent to have better CCTV and to be honest better security measures should have been built in in the first place.
“Most of us like the apartments, and we want to live in Manchester but we don’t want to come home and find our door kicked in.”
Hopefully RMG will keep their word, replace every single keyfob and take the other measures they promised.
Splash boss Tom Bloxham MBE is due to be in the building next Tuesday morning and it would be interesting to know if he is aware of the security issues.
He is conducting a city walking tour of New Islington for members of Manchester's city centre management company CityCo around the development areas present 'exciting phase of its construction'.
In the meantime both RMG and Urban Splash were asked to make a comment on the security at Chips and the steps being taken to protect owners and tenants but no response so far.
It’s worth emphasising that communal living demands a certain level of responsibility whatever the location and no amount of CCTV and fancy locks will work if residents get careless.
The response from RMG and Urban Splash
Justin Herbert at RMG said: "Managing these issues and communicating with our residents has been our number one priority in recent weeks.
"We have been quick to respond to the issues at Chips, immediately taking a number of steps to resolve the situation including putting in place on site security 24 hours a day.
"During this period the RMG team will be on site every day to provide further support to the community. Residents should be reassured in additional to a new control system on the main entrances to the building each floor will have its own access system restricted to residents.
"Working with the local authority and with the implementation of other security measures we will improve the situation and we are committed to ensuring we maintain and develop the predominantly safe environment that Chips and New Islington offer to residents."
An Urban Splash spokesperson said: "Regeneration areas sometimes attract a small number of incidents of lawless behaviour. Fortunately, transforming fortunes and creating desirable places across the country is something we've achieved again and again and that's a result of hard work and strong partnerships with good managing agents, the local police and newly established communities.
"We have a longstanding working relationship with RMG and have every confidence in their management of the situation to date. We will continue to work with them in deterring the small number of people carrying out lawless behaviour in the area to ensure that they don't upset the lives of the majority of citizens."
Chips - out of the frying pan into the Ashton Canal
