Residents of a housing block in Snowsfields have accused the Guinness Partnership housing association of “bullying” them by refusing to recognise the recently-organised tenants’ and residents’ association.
The group was set up several weeks ago by Guinness Court residents concerned about the running of their building, but they have been left in limbo ever since, they say.
Bernie O’Rourke, chair of the unofficial group, told the News: “At the moment, they’re saying we cannot have a TRA. I’m not sure where to go or how to do it. We don’t know what’s going on and there are a lot of concerned people.
“We absolutely need it. We have had drug dealers using the block, a fire recently and surveyors wandering around without anyone letting us know about it.
“We’re in the dark and they seem to want to leave us there. This is bullying but we will keep fighting.”
Lib Dem councillor Ben Johnson, who along with Labour councillor Lucas Green have been working with residents to organise the fledgling residents’ group, said the situation seemed “odd.”
He said: “The residents wants to have their properly constituted association recognised and it’s very frustrating.”
A spokesperson for the Guinness Partnership said TRAs played an “invaluable role” in their business.
They said: “We work closely with a number of tenant groups across the country, and some choose to become officially registered so they can receive additional support from us.
“We are sorry that, as a result of reviewing our procedures, there has been a delay with us being able to register the TRA at Guinness Court. We would like to reassure the association that we are working to resolve this as soon as possible.”