Keynsham housing association flats 'deprived'

One councillor said the estate is the scene of "deprivation not seen since the 1950s"

A housing association has been criticised by residents and councillors of an estate who say they feel forgotten about.

A majority of the 44 homes at the development in Keynsham, between Bath and Bristol, are managed by Curo.

Keynsham Town councillor Dave Biddleston said the site suffered from "deprivation not seen since the 1950s".

Curo said it was aware of persistent vandalism and assured residents it was taking the situation seriously.

Sharon Tucker, who lives on the estate said: "Our stairwells smell worse than a public toilet, there's graffiti everywhere, the courtyard is full of rubbish.

"We are complaining constantly, but to get anything done is really hard work."

'CCTV vandalised'

The area recently suffered a large fire which destroyed the bin store.

Resident, Kelly Clark said Curo had installed CCTV but "doubted it was switched on".

A spokesman for Curo, said it was working to replace and upgrade the fire-damaged bin store, but the CCTV had been vandalised "beyond repair".

"Some of this is being carried out by children who don't live in the area and as a landlord we're limited in what we can do to tackle these issues," he said.

"We are meeting with B&NES (Bath and North East Somerset Council) ward councillors to discuss residents' concerns and potential improvements at the estate."