Switching to digital

[Lisa Hocking]

The residents are asking about broadband provision … the charity recently funded at great expense the cladding to the whole building which houses our 8 flats which has improved heat insulation for the residents & Improving the exterior aesthetic of the building [it was built in 1979].
The charity has also replaced all the double glazed windows with modern which has improved the sound insulation from the nearby main road.
The charity pays for a window cleaner for the exterior of all the windows.
The charity pays for gardeners who maintain the gardens beautifully all around the building where residents sit to have BBQ’s & enjoy the sunshine.
We have a community room cleaned weekly & communal halls cleaned weekly. Friends/family members of residents can stay in community room for 10.00 per night. Recently relatives came to stay for 3 weeks to support a resident whose husband died following a heart attack & the ambulance took 3 hours to arrive … too late.
The exterior lights are maintained & paid for by the charity. The charity has just funded the installation of under counter heaters & removed the old inefficient immersion water tanks.
The provision offered for broadband by most providers is fibre optic cable which involves attaching brackets & cables to the outside of the building, the cladding. The trustees are reluctant to give permission for this because one of the reasons to clad as well as insulation was to remove old rusty satellite dishes & cover
many cables collected on the outside of the building over the years thus improving the look of the almshouse on top of which the estimates we have had are for thousands of pounds to provide broadband for all residents. Cash is a little short currently due to the recent expenses. And I feel a little exasperated, apologies for venting, sometimes we achieve one target to improve living conditions & straight away the residents request another. The trustees have stated this will not happen in the immediate future because we have to find a different way to get digital broadband provision into the 8 flats … is there anyone out there that knows of such a thing ???

[clerk@westerhamalmshousecharity.org]

I can see why you would be frustrated by all this. I felt frustrated reading it. You are providing far more than a Landlord would to a tenant in the same circumstances.

Our Residents arrange their own internet provision, as they are each responsible for their own phone line- digital or otherwise. If any cables need attaching to the structure, it would require permission of the Trustees, who are responsible for the Listed building. There has been talk of possibly laying cables in the roof space, but nothing has come of it yet.

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