Tenants say they feel fearful and overcrowded in a council high-rise that was once the envy of the city, and they have "given up" on hope of improvements. For a block full of families, many say Lansdowne Court doesn’t seem very family friendly - even the playground has been removed.
But 20 years ago there was a waiting list of people who wanted to live in the Easton tower block. Residents had successfully campaigned for a concierge scheme and within four years of its implementation there had only been three emergency calls, all for minor incidents.
But Lansdowne today echoes what Emra House was known for prior to the scheme that was introduced in 1995, a year after tenants balloted to give their block a new name. Like the early 1990s tenants say they are again living in fear of their safety, claiming they have to regularly assist their children in dodging heroin needles on their way to school.
