Acton: Inside the tower block set for demolition

Jerome Tower is almost completely empty. This block of flats in Acton, west London, is set to be demolished next year and remains in a state of semi-abandonment with only four apartments occupied out of more than 70.

Whole floors have been left to decay, with multiple storeys sealed off from the public and metal shutters blocking access from the damp stairs and shrieking lifts.

A timeline has been set - all residents must be out by November before the site is handed over to a developer, but where they go is unclear.

The site is part of Acton Gardens, a 15-year regeneration programme that will create about 3,400 new homes, 1,250 of which will be social housing.

It is due to be completed in about four years, Ealing Council said.

Kancha Bwengele, who has been living in Jerome Tower for the past five years, said she was effectively trapped in the crumbling building.

The mother of three says she is in £30,000 of arrears due to a mistake that incorrectly discontinued her housing benefit. 

As a tenant who is looking to get council assistance with her housing, the arrears situation makes her departure from Jerome Tower almost impossible. 

"I can't pay it. If I could have I would have already and I just want to clear as much of it as I can," she said.

Ms Bwengele said her only chance to get out of the block is if the council evicts her and makes her homeless, and then steps in to find new accommodation if "the issue with housing benefit isn't proven to be my fault". 

She pays £1,450 a month for her two-bedroom flat on the sixth floor.

"The lift is always breaking down in quite dangerous situations," she said. "I'm always having to climb up and down. My seven-year-old has fallen a few times on the stairs carrying the [baby's] buggy up and down."

She added: "I live alone with the girls so sometimes it can get a bit spooky. I don't blame them but some of the kids on the estate come here. You find them hanging out on the stairs and being loud at night or in the park outside." 

Ms Bwengele's eldest daughter Cylla, 20, said the rapid change and lack of clarity about what is going to happen to her home had been hard.

"It's a bit depressing and I'm worried about my family and I don't have any confirmation about where I live," the university student said.

Liz Kovacs, a stage four cancer patient, was moved into the 12th floor of Jerome Tower two years ago - after it had been condemned for demolition.

The 51-year-old's previous home on the other side of Acton was cleared of residents for a similar rejuvenation project.

Ms Kovacs and her son Michael are the only two people living on the 12th floor, which she said could be scary.

"Strangers come into the building and try to get into the empty flats," she said.

Salah Hassanein was moved to Jerome Tower in October 2019 after living in a single hostel room in Southall with his pregnant wife and two children.

"When I came here they didn't tell me it was going to be demolished," he said. "Residents asked if I was moving in or moving out." 

Mr Hassanein said that as the block began to empty, maintenance became less frequent and security more lax.

"We used to have some intruders," he said. "They would come through the lower windows and they would be in there until 4am with drugs, about 15 people."

Mr Hassanein and his family have since moved across the borough to Hanwell after being offered permanent accommodation by the council. But he has serious concerns about their new home too.

Despite his experience at Jerome Tower, Mr Hassanein said it was a shame the building was to be demolished.

"I don't know why they are putting it down," he said. "It just needs some renovation. It is strong. I don't know why they have to demolish it. There are 15 floors... that's a lot of apartments." 

A spokesperson for Ealing Council said. "[The] council is delivering one of London's biggest council homebuilding programmes.

"Thousands of new socially rented homes are being built across the borough. The regeneration at Acton Gardens is a key part of that work.

"There will be twice as many homes at the estate than before regeneration started, and almost a third more affordable housing, which is partly funded by the sale of the other new homes."

The spokesperson added that the council was working to resolve the issue of Jerome Tower residents moving out of the building.

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