Residents of a South London estate who claim they have been living with damp and mould for “more than four years” have asked for quicker solutions and repairs.

Greenwich Council has received a petition calling for fixes to be carried out in council homes in Orchard and Coldbath Estate on Lewisham Road.

The petition said over 500 council tenants and residents live in the estate with “outstanding repairs” needed in the flats.

A council newsletter from last year said the authority planned on improving its repairs programme, and while work had begun it could take until 2026 to finish.

This Is Local London: An example of the mould found in Orchard EstateAn example of the mould found in Orchard Estate

Council documents also said transforming the repairs system “will not take place overnight”, but the petition called the nearly four-year-long schedule “wholly unacceptable” and demanded a “more realistic” timetable.

Sarah Saitch, who started the campaign, said at a Greenwich Council meeting on Thursday, February 23, that the petition was sent shortly after August 2022, when the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) identified thousands of homes in Greenwich that the council had not carried out health and safety assessments for.

Ms Saitch said at the meeting: “Four years? Many tenants have been waiting years longer than that already, and yet the final sentence of the response says, ‘We can’t do things overnight.’ Is that what the RSH is happy with?”

Labour Councillor Pat Slattery, cabinet member for housing, said at the meeting that the council had reported itself to the RSH after councillors felt they were falling short on standards.

This Is Local London: One of the four tower blocks of the Orchard Estate, as seen from Lewisham RoadOne of the four tower blocks of the Orchard Estate, as seen from Lewisham Road

The cabinet member also said the response from the regulator was not directed to the council’s housing repairs team.

Cllr Slattery said: “The bulk of these repairs and improvements will be delivered by the end of four years, but they’re already being delivered now.”

The councillor said the repairs team were monitoring the timescale of the improvements, and that the waiting time when reporting repairs had been reduced since November last year.

Regarding the petition, officers said in council documents that the council was carrying out surveys for flats in the Orchard Estate to see if more investment was needed for the buildings.

They said: “Residents will see a gradual improvement to services and will not wait four years to see a difference, however transformation of systems and culture will not take place overnight and it would be misleading to residents to suggest otherwise.”

Council officers said residents of the Orchard Estate will be told the outcomes of the surveys in the coming months.