PFI uPVC OMG

Beatrice sent us this article about homes in Ladywell:

Leaseholders in Ladywell are up in arms about a plan to install uPVC windows in their period homes.

The Victorian houses in Algiers Road, Vicars Hill and surrounding streets lie between the St Mary's and Brockley conservation areas. Lewisham council owns the freehold of most of the properties, which come into the Brockley Private Finance Initiative regeneration scheme.
Regenter B3, which manages council property, wants to rip out original doors and windows in the homes of both council tenants and leaseholders.

Leaseholders are furious because they face bills of up to £18,000 for work they say is unnecessary and inappropriate.

UPVC features, they say, would spoil the look of their homes - with distinctive wooden sash windows and ornamental doors.

Leaseholders can replace doors and windows themselves but the specifications they have been given mean costs would be even higher.

We can only describe this as an act of vandalism on an industrial scale, damaging the character of whole streets.

Of course, homes need to be made more energy efficient, but uPVC is not the way to do it. uPVC contains environmentally harmful materials and, bluntly, is incredibly ugly. Wooden frame double glazing is just as effective and not much more expensive.

So leaseholders are faced with having to pay large bills for work that they don't want done to their house, which could ultimately reduce the resale value of their property. They have the choice to pay more to install wood, but with many already struggling to meet the costs of the work, many will find it hard to justify the extra cost.

Tenants have no choice at all in the matter.

In our view, residents have every right to be furious and the Council should try to broker a better solution as soon as possible.