Torture

From: Filip Mašić FMasic@hotmail.co.uk
Sent: 29 October 2020 14:43
To: New Town Hall Scheme: H&F NewTownHallScheme@lbhf.gov.uk
Subject: Demolition Update Sep 2020

In reply to this update from a few months ago.

I’m sure there was no noise outside office hours when office hours are 10 hours/day and 6 days/week lol. I’ve been trying to wake up as late as possible to avoid this hell, and the hot days were astoundingly brutal. The next lockdown will actually bring a large improvement to everyone’s quality-of-life if it ends this noise. Idk if the working hours are more humane now or I’m imagining things but truly, go to hell for what you did over the summer.

You’re also sadistic for imposing a 260m region where it’s not possible to access King Street. Penned in by two main roads, requiring breathing in all that pollution to go around the site. Keeping the Cromwell Ave passage open is the minimum but enabling access, e.g. from Riverside Gardens westwards, should be the top priority.

– from Riverside Gardens W6, Block E

27/11/2020 16:15

Attachment

Dear Mr Masic

Thank you for email and please accept our apologies for the disruption that our residents had to endure

I am pleased to inform you that the demolition has now been completed

Residents have contacted us about the noise arising from the demolition, with some reporting noisy works taking place during the evening or at the weekend. We apologise for any inconvenience caused during the demolition works. We understand that the combination of the Coronavirus pandemic and the hot weather has exacerbated the inconvenience for people living and working at home. Hoarding has been erected around the entire site for safety and to reduce noise and dust

Please note that the demolition contractors are operating a voluntary 2 hours on/2 hours off rotation for noisy works. This means that breaking should only take place 8.00-10.00am, 12.00-14.00 and 16.00-18.00 Monday to Friday; 08.00-10.00 and 12.00-13.00 on Saturdays

There have been a small number of occasions lately where the noise monitoring equipment has recorded high readings outside of site hours. Our investigations have shown that no work was taking place during this time, indicating that this was as a result of other activity happening locally.

Cadent Gas have been replacing the 18-inch gas main at the junction of Studland Street and King Street in Hammersmith and have been permitted to work extended hours to help get the works completed promptly.

If you would like to raise an issue with Riverside Gardens Construction Liaison Panel representative, please send a message to NewTownHallScheme@lbhf.gov.uk and we will forward it to them.

I have attached our October/November newsletter for the latest update

I hope this is helpful for you

Yours sincerely

Soraya Shalak On behalf of Benjamin Maltby Design & Build Project Manager

From: Filip Mašić
Sent: 5 November 2020 12:36
To: andy@andyslaughter.com
Subject: Construction and Social Housing during Lockdown

Hi Andy,

I woke up this morning to find myself under a new order to stay at home, yet this doesn’t seem to apply to the huge construction site at Hammersmith Town Hall. Since the first lockdown ended, really loud drilling has been going on for around 60 hours per week at this site. The entire area around it is low-income social housing, and I doubt the residents have much recourse to escape it. It also now blots out almost all daylight hours each day.

I think this is kind of a big concern… about which I’ve been greeted with silence when emailing the address for the project. I feel like you could easily see some suicides, or at least struggles with this and depression for people compelled to be awake during darkness hours only to escape the hell. If nothing else, that’s how I feel first-hand.

Let me know if there’s anything to be done about this since this situation, with uncontrolled noise pollution during a stay-at-home order, is a kind of torture.

Thanks, Filip Mašić

From: Andy Slaughter
Sent: 06 November 2020 12:23
To: fmasic@hotmail.co.uk
Subject: Re: Construction and Social Housing during Lockdown (Case Ref: ZA94571)

Dear Filip

Thank you very much for your email and for taking the time to write to me.

I have been contacted by many constituents who have raised concerns about construction work that has been taking place, particularly amid the COVID-19 outbreak. I am happy to do what I can to help, however the Council require some more information when I contact them about construction sites and excessive noise. Are you able to confirm the address of the construction site? Do you know the name of the construction company? Once I have this information, I can write to the Council on your behalf.

In your email, you have also mentioned the impact this is having on your wellbeing. I am very concerned to hear of this, and I hope you are receiving any support you may need. Do let me know if not and I am happy to refer you to organisations that can help.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards

Andy Slaughter MP for Hammersmith

From: Filip Mašić
Sent: 7 November 2020 09:52
To: Andy Slaughter
Subject: RE: Construction and Social Housing during Lockdown (Case Ref:

Dear Andy,

Thanks so much for getting back to me quickly. The construction site is around Nigel Playfair Avenue. I didn’t remember the name of the company but the project has email address NewTownHallScheme@lbhf.gov.uk . They seem to still be going 60 hours a week. Or at least they’re being loud at 9am on a Saturday. They don’t reply on that email and whenever my mum has phoned, she’s just been told we can’t legally challenge them being loud during those 60h.

I’m holding up alright for now but it’s always welcome to know who can offer help. My first resolution is to try to sleep through the site hours and see how that pans out. Though of course, some days are randomly quieter and more bearable. I do feel like some people are suffering through this noise in silence though.

I’m very grateful to have your support! Kind regards, Filip

From: Andy Slaughter
Sent: 09 November 2020 15:37
To: fmasic@hotmail.co.uk
Subject: Re: Construction and Social Housing during Lockdown (Case Ref: (Case Ref: ZA94571)

Dear Filip

Thank you for your email and for providing further information.

Please be assured that I do remain happy to write to the Council to formally raise this, should you like me to take this action. If you feel this would be helpful, do not hesitate to contact me again, and I will do what I can to assist.

Best wishes

Andy Slaughter MP

From: Filip Mašić
Sent: 11 November 2020 08:34
To: Andy Slaughter
Subject: RE: Construction and Social Housing during Lockdown (Case Ref:

Dear Andy,

I’d like you to do that, if that’s the most effective course of action. It’s getting out-of-hand. I’m trying to sleep through it at the moment and not seeing much daylight. On the other hand, my mum is unable to sleep since they put up floodlights directly facing her window the night before last. They penetrate the curtains. Our spirits are low, we won’t be able to sell the property for as much, and I don’t understand the council’s lack of accountability or consideration of some kind of temporary accommodation in more humane conditions.

Once again, very grateful for your care and help, and I hope you’ve been doing well, with all these concerns floating around.

Best wishes, Filip

11/11/2020 13:00

Dear Filip

Thank you for your email. I have now made a formal enquiry to Hammersmith and Fulham Council to raise your concerns.

I will be in touch when I have a full response but do not hesitate to contact me if there is anything further I can do to assist in the meantime.

Kind regards

Andy Slaughter MP for Hammersmith

From: Andy Slaughter
Sent: 04 December 2020 16:31
To: FMasic@hotmail.co.uk
Subject: Your case (Case Ref: ZA94571)

Dear Filip,

I hope you are keeping well and safe.

I have now received a response from the Council following the enquiries I made on your behalf, which I have included below.

I hope you find their response accurate, but should you require any further assistance then you may wish to write to me again and I will do what more I can.

Please be assured I remain willing to help.

Kind regards,

Andy Slaughter MP for Hammersmith

Please see the Council’s response below:

Dear Mr Slaughter, MP

Thank you for your enquiry on behalf of your constituent Mr Filip Masi.

*Our response*

We are pleased to inform you that the demolition work mentioned in Mr Masi’s email has now been completed and the floodlights issue has been resolved.

We instructed our contractor to angle their recently erected floodlights away from residential properties which they have now done. We will continue to take a proactive approach and liaise with residents via the Construction Liaison Panel, set up in 2019, to ensure that disruption during the redevelopment of the Civic Campus site is kept to a minimum.

We understand that the Coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the inconvenience for people living and working at home. There is noise, dust and vibration monitoring equipment set up on the site to ensure that statutory limits are not exceeded, and our newly appointed construction contractor has now erected fencing around the entire site perimeter for safety and to further reduce noise and dust.

The Council’s demolition contractor, who were working at the site from September 2019 - December 2020, have been operating a voluntary 2 hours on/2 hours off rotation for noisy works; means that breaking should take place only during the hours of 8.00-10.00am, 12.00-14.00 and 16.00-18.00 Monday to Friday; and 08.00-10.00 and 12.00-13.00 on Saturdays.

Our residents can obtain more information and report construction noise and dust pollution concerns via the link below

https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/environment/noise-and-nuisance/construction-site-noise-and-dust-pollution

Again, we would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused during the demolition works and we are happy for Mr Masi to raise any concerns with us via NewTownHallScheme@lbhf.gov.uk.

I trust I have answered your enquiry in full.

Best regards

[…] On behalf of Benjamin Maltby Design & Build Project Manager

From: Filip Mašić
Sent: 15 June 2021 15:53
To: Andy Slaughter
Subject: RE: Your case (Case Ref: ZA94571)

Hi Andy,

I hope you’re well, and thanks for all the help with this problem, and for forwarding the council’s reply. I haven’t been in touch lately only because I don’t have the energy and I feel powerless to do anything. But nothing’s really changed. I noticed firstly that the reply from the council was delayed just enough so they could say the demolition was finished. But that only scratches the surface really. – The floodlights were never actually resolved. This (and this from our windows) is what it originally looked like and continues to look like. – The construction site may not be daily torture anymore but it’s still absolutely unbearable on random, unannounced days. Here for example is the noise I had to suffer through on a day in January. I have hyper-sensitive hearing so I find this kind of thing harrowing. I wasn’t able to get out of bed that day. – The contractor has sent a single letter since Sept 2020, and it’s just as deceitful as everything that’s come before. In reality, there was hardly any noise in May, and then there was a reckoning in June. And it’s still ongoing; at 14:45 earlier today, there was loud pneumatic drilling, despite the break period being listed as 14–15. Not the first time, won’t be the last. So I am morbidly curious as to when this “concrete breaking” will actually end.

So yeah, nothing but old news really. I’m just angry about the lack of accountability. The contractor says what it wants, does something else. Nobody has at any point offered us alternative accommodation (the biggest offence really). We still can’t walk south-west without having to walk along an extremely polluted dual carriageway for a long stretch, especially since the passage on Cromwell Road is closed just because they can’t be bothered to make it safe.

At this point, I’m also battling the council on reporting DIY noise on the estate. I had this happen two nights in a row (Sat, Sun) past 9pm, and the respondent had the audacity to tell me that 10pm is a reasonable hour for this level of noise, told me he’d send me an educational email (which he didn’t), and started targeting me for being the only person to report the noise, despite the fact that we’ve lived through floods, power-outages, gas leaks in other properties, always the only ones reporting them, because that’s what life is like in social housing.

My mum is considering also emailing you, mostly because the construction contractor won’t stick to its word on when loud noise happens, but in general, her situation is she can’t work because of the noise and can’t sleep because of the lights. It’s much better for me, living on the other side of the flat where I’m less affected by both things. But I do wonder what the moral justification is for her to not be able to work when this contractor was allowed to bring down so many negative externalities and psychological damage during multiple lockdowns.

Anyway, sorry to be so negative, since I know you’ve had it rough from the dystopian tone of your newsletter haha. I’m pretty disturbed by how the government has handled Hammersmith Bridge as well, and the story about the seal felt like a cherry on top of all the other stuff. But yeah, best you know what’s going on while we continue trying to survive it. Keep up the good work in the community :o

All the best, Filip

24/06/2021 13:08

Dear Filip

Thank you for your email.

I am concerned to read that these issues are persisting and of the impact this is having on your and your mother. I have now made a further enquiry to pursue this further with the Council.

I hope their response will offer a helpful way forward but do let me know if there are any developments in the meantime.

Kind regards

Andy Slaughter MP for Hammersmith

From: Andy Slaughter
Sent: 12 August 2021 09:59
To: FMasic@hotmail.co.uk
Subject: FW: Member enquiry (ref: 673922) (Case Ref: ZA94571)

Attachment

Dear Filip

Following my enquiry to Hammersmith & Fulham Council, I have now received the below responses.

I hope the information below is somewhat useful to you, but as ever, I welcome your comments and remain happy to pursue your concerns with the Council.

Kind regards

Andy Slaughter MP for Hammersmith

See below responses:

Dear Mr Slaughter

ME - RE Filip Masi 48 Riverside Gardens W6 9LE 673922 (Case Ref: ZA94571)

(Please see attached letters sent to Resident.)

We are sorry to hear Mr Masi has been inconvenienced by the works taking place on the site.

A Piling Rig was delivered to the site on Friday, 18 June 2021. The rig is being used to install the foundations for the new buildings and is expected to be on-site for approximately 20 weeks. A letter was sent to residents in June, advising of piling works and notification of Saturday works for the remainder of the programme. Copies of these letters are attached for further information.

Our construction contractor, Ardmore, has advised the piling rig emits noise within allowable volumes. However, to minimise the disturbance to residents living nearby, the following measures are in place:

• Barriers have been erected around the works to reduce noise transmission.
• Noise and vibration monitors have been installed around the site to ensure that statutory limits are not exceeded. If the noise limit is reached, the contractor is automatically alerted, and work stops.

*Floodlights*

The floodlights repositioned previously were located on another part of the site, and we apologise for the misunderstanding in our previous response.

Ardmore will reposition the floodlights located near Riverside Gardens and we anticipate this will be completed by the end of this week (30 July). If Mr Masi is willing, we can ask Ardmore’s Resident Liaison Officer or the Riverside Tenants and Residents’ Association representative to check whether the changes made are suitable.

*Cromwell Avenue*

The site boundary includes the path on Cromwell Avenue. This path will be closed during the construction period and alternative pedestrian routes have been publicised by the Council.

Again, we would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused during the works, and we are happy for concerns to be raised with us via NewTownHallScheme@lbhf.gov.uk

Kind regards,

*Catherine Umeh*
Project Manager - Civic Campus
Economy Department

In response to your query received on 30 July 2021, regarding alternative accommodation.

We don’t provide alternative accommodation for private leaseholders unless the property is uninhabitable as a result of an insured peril.

As there’s nothing here to trigger that, it’s more how we manage and minimise the local disruption so we keep it to a reasonable level. Yours sincerely

Councillor & MP Enquiry Team

From: Filip Mašić
Sent: 23 August 2021 12:19
To: Andy Slaughter
Cc: New Town Hall Scheme: H&F
Subject: RE: Member enquiry (ref: 673922) (Case Ref: ZA94571)

dear andy

there’s no hope here, it’s literally just torture. we now get woken every day before 9am by a large explosion, the banging is now so loud that i can’t even sleep through the day anymore (and my window is closed). here’s another noise sample (see 1:46 for example); they’re literally dropping metallic objects from 3 stories, though i haven’t recorded them in the act yet. they’re making massive dust clouds (video), so we can never open our windows. it’s now 7 days a week as well thanks to the completely unregulated diy in my area, which the noise complaint officer won’t do anything about and was incredibly shit to me about. the latest diy has been going every day for 9 days straight. there’s also been a siren noise from the next-door telephone exchange i think, which has been going continuously since a bit before the olympics started, just over a month ago I think. so overall it’s just like, i can hear disturbing noises, 24/7.

my mum revealed to me for the first time that she’s starting to mentally break and lose hope, which is the place i’ve been in since last summer. my own mental health has been eroded to the point of having regular days of crying and actively battling suicidal thoughts, which last as long as the noise lasts, up to 10 hours a day. i had enough difficulties before but this one literally cannot be escaped. no alternative accommodation for torture. no prospect of selling the flat, which has been so heavily devalued by this building site. no escape. i can’t get myself to put in the high amount of work i need to prepare for job interviews in my field; been unemployed since 2019. i can’t keep forcing myself to go outside and be doing nothing for hours to escape. my mum is struggling to keep working; nothing can drown out the noise for her.

i’m gonna have to really start hitting up mental health charities and things but yeah we’ve both endured an incredible loss of life here and should start looking into legal advice and a court case probably. maybe also forcing the council to buy out the property. i’ll report this to ccscheme at some point but otherwise really dunno how to proceed and could do with your advice. my mum’s thinking of hitting up a specific councillor, but i’ve not looked into that. it all seems pretty unresolvable and hopeless to me, and i can’t get back on my feet till it goes away.

filip

From: Filip Mašić fmasic@hotmail.co.uk
Sent: 24 August 2021 12:00
To: Andy Slaughter andy@andyslaughter.com
Subject: FW: Member enquiry (ref: 673922) (Case Ref: ZA94571)

i wanted to add some further developments to this. firstly, this is what is causing the (most torturous) banging noise (video). secondly, my mum reported something from this morning. the builders got into a huge row, with loud yelling audible on her side of the flat. the woman above us opened her window and started shouting at them about it; one of them replied “we don’t care about your fucking baby” and started deliberately throwing metallic scaffolding tubes. so we now know that the torture is deliberate. my mum isn’t of the generation to instinctively have recorded this unfortunately. well i guess my one hope is i get enough compensation out of this to start a new life.

filip

From: andy@andyslaughter.com Sent: 14 September 2021 11:48 To: fmasic@hotmail.co.uk Subject: Re: Member enquiry (ref: 673922) (Case Ref: ZA94571)

Dear Filip   Thank you for your emails and for keeping me updated. Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding. My office has been receiving a high volume of correspondence in relation to the crisis in Afghanistan, and as such, I was not able to respond as soon as I would normally like. I hope this has not caused you any inconvenience.   I remain concerned about the issues you have raised, and the behaviour of contractors on site. I have now made a further enquiry to pursue this with the Council.   In your emails, you have also mentioned the impact this is having on you and your mother’s wellbeing. I am very sorry to hear this. Please do not feel as though you are on your own to deal with these feelings, there are a number of organisations that can help you at this distressing time. In the first instance, I would encourage you to speak to your GP who may be able to offer support. You may also find it helpful to reach out to the following organisations:   West London NHS Trust Crisis Support  Mental Health Single Point of Access (24/7)  Telephone: 0800 328 4444  Website: https://westlondon.nhs.uk/service/single-point-access/    Samaritans  Emotional support for anyone in emotional distress or at risk of suicide  Telephone: 116 123  Website: https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/    Emergency Services  Please dial 999 if you need emergency assistance because you or someone you know is at immediate risk of harm    There is further advice, including more support options, provided by the NHS here: https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/nhs-services/mental-health-services/where-to-get-urgent-help-for-mental-health/.     I hope the above is helpful to you. I am happy to write to your GP or WLMHT should you feel this would be helpful. I will be in touch when I have a full response from the Council, but as ever, do let me know if there is anything further I can do to assist.

Kind regards

Andy Slaughter MP for Hammersmith

From: andy@andyslaughter.com Sent: 27 September 2021 14:19 To: fmasic@hotmail.co.uk Subject: FW: Member enquiry (ref: 673922) (Case Ref: ZA94571)

Dear Filip

Following my enquiry to Hammersmith & Fulham Council, I have now received the below response.

I hope the below information is useful to you. As ever, do let me know if there is anything further I may be able to do to assist, as I remain happy to do what I can to help.

Kind regards

Andy Slaughter MP for Hammersmith

See response below:

Dear Mr Slaughter

Member enquiry - Enquiry processing 1594577

Thank you for your enquiry received 14 September 2021 on behalf of Felip Masi of 48 Riverside Gardens, London, W6 9LE regarding the noise, dust and behaviour of contractors at the Town Hall site.

We can advise that our contractors Ardmore are doing everything they can to mitigate noise and dust levels, especially given the fact that they are present between two residential buildings, constructing a particularly complex and congested scheme.

As mentioned in previous emails, noise and dust monitors have been set up on site as part of Ardmore’s approved construction management plan. Best practice guidance produced in partnership by the Greater London Authority and London Councils provides recommendations for the control of dust and emissions from construction and demolition sites.

The guidance recommends a minimum site action level of 250 µg/m3 over 15 minutes (or 200 µg/m3 for TEOM measurement). The level of particles from the Town Hall site are within this limit. The readings are regularly reviewed by Ardmore and if the site action level is being breached work will stop immediately and will ensure that best practice measures are in place before restarting.

We have spoken to Ciaran Crosby, the on-site Senior Project Manager, about the conduct of all subcontractors and have requested they are reminded to show respect and courtesy to those living and working in the vicinity. He will schedule a talk with contractors to conduct themselves in a mannerly fashion.

We continue to take a proactive approach to resident engagement and hold a monthly Construction Liaison Panel (CLP) with representatives from the local community, the Council and Ardmore to discuss any issues arising from the construction. If Mr Masi does have any further questions or concerns about the construction these can also be directed to the Riverside Gardens resident representative Marjorie Kennedy who will raise this with Ardmore and the LBHF project team. She can be contacted via email at riversidegardenstra@gmail.com

Please rest assured we are doing everything we can to mitigate the noise and dust on site.

We hope your enquiry has been answered. Should you require any further information about the works on site, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely,

on the behalf of the Civic Campus project team.

*Catherine Umeh*

Project Manager - Civic Campus

Economy Department

From: Filip Mašić
Sent: 7 December 2022 19:17
To: andy@andyslaughter.com
Subject: noise torture

Hi Andy,

The building site at the town hall is now working both 15 hour days and Sundays and the drilling torture currently ongoing (7pm) is giving me a mental health relapse. Whatever you previously tried regarding talking directly to the oppressor didn’t achieve anything other than a few stickers on floodlights so I’d rather you help me out with contacts for legal recourse against the council and any relevant government bodies to complain to. I am still traumatised by being forced out of my toilet by a collapsing crane this summer, because my ocd requires me to use the toilet at my own pace or suffer grave anxiety, so I lost 10h that day. Reminder that we want our home to be compulsorily purchased and to be given alternative accommodation asap. Here’s a log of some of what we’ve been through lately.

Thanks,

Filip

From: Andy Slaughter
Sent: 19 January 2023 11:39
To: FMasic@hotmail.co.uk
Cc: Emma.Apthorp@lbhf.gov.uk; Patricia.Quigley@lbhf.gov.uk
Subject: Re: noise torture (Case Ref: ZA94571)

Dear Filip,

Thank you for taking the time to write to my office. Please accept my apologies for the delay in getting back to you, it is unfortunately taking longer than expected to get back to all those who have written to me over the Christmas period.

I am sorry to read that this issue has persisted and is causing you mental distress. I have copied in your local ward councillors - Cllr Apthorp and Cllr Quigley – who will be best placed to help you address this issue going forward.

I also would recommend contacting your Hammersmith Broadway Tenants and Residents Association. More information on this can be found here: https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/housing/resident-involvement/tenants-and-residents-associations-tras/tenants-and-residents-associations-tras-useful-documents/tras-we-are-working

Kind regards, Andy Slaughter MP

[i didn’t hear from these councillors (as of 07/10/2023) or contact the association]