It all started when ACORN members Amber Smith and Luke Neary discovered broken asbestos tiles in their flat in York House, one of Bradford's biggest, and most notorious tower blocks.
Incommunities, Bradford's biggest social housing provider, failed to tell them, or any of the other York House residents, about the presence of broken asbestos in the flats, or to listen to concerns from residents.
ACORN Bradford members immediately took action, organising residents of York House and other Incommunities properties to fight back. We took the issue from one that nobody was talking about, to something that was raised in parliament, discussed on the BBC, and galvanised social tenants across Bradford. After two actions, months of campaigning, and a lot of evasive maneuvering, Incommunities agreed to meet with ACORN members. The results?
-Total removal of all asbestos from York House
- An agreement by Incommunities to do the repairs they've missed
- Future meetings once a month between Incommunities tenants and management to hold accountable for issues.
There's still significant problems in York House and other Incommunities properties, but the fact that a few social tenants in some of the most notorious social housing in Bradford built enough power to build a player as big as Incommunities to the table shows there's hope for a better Bradford.