People living in a Swansea council estate have spoken out about horrific conditions in their blocks of flats. Residents of Heol Gwyrosydd in Penlan told how they are afraid to go outside due to drug dealing and aggressive youths, while their buildings have fallen into squalor. They accused both the council and police of neglect.
WalesOnline visited five blocks of flats on the estate this week and found the communal areas in an awful state, from a landing strewn with animal faeces to a building which did not have a front door. Tenants said the council has allowed the blocks to deteriorate into damp-ridden disrepair.
"We are treated like third-class citizens," said Shauna Underhill, 29, who has lived in one of the buildings for six years. "Every time I open the door I am scared. Crack is a big issue. Within a mile-and-a-half radius there are three dealers, maybe four. A lot of robbing goes on."
A spokesperson for Swansea council said it has invested £550million into its 13,600 council homes over the last 20 years including improvements at Heol Gwyrosydd. Its housing service has "a daily presence in this area", he added.
The four-storey blocks sit close to each other on a grassy area near Heol Emrys and Tudno Place. The council estate on those streets is set to be redeveloped with some homes planned for demolition and new social housing to be built — but the flats on Heol Gwyrosydd are not part of that scheme.
Three of the Heol Gwyrosydd buildings had chipboard covering broken glass panels at their entrances. In another, freezing air came in through the space where the doorway should have been. On an upper floor in one block, a window was off its hinges. Pointing to a pool of water on the landing near her door, a woman said it had collected because of rain coming through a window which did not work properly.
One man showed how he had hidden a knife above his door because of the threatening behaviour and vandalism plaguing the estate. Other residents said their children were "terrified" by teenagers who enter the buildings late at night and kick their doors. An empty 'sealy bag' of the type often used in drug deals could be seen discarded on a filthy concrete stairwell.
There was a strong smell of damp in some of the blocks. Ms Underhill, who lives in a two-bed flat with her dad, showed WalesOnline the mould on the walls in her kitchen and one of the bedrooms, while the ceiling in the corridor was peeling from damp.
She said: "Two or three years ago my father phoned the council about the damp. They came last week. We had almost forgotten we'd called. When the guy came, I told him it could be happening because the bottom of the drainpipe outside is cracked."
Ms Underhill said she was frustrated by the response when she asked if the worker could fix the pipe. "I said, 'Why not get to the root of the issue?' And he said, 'I can only do what I have been told to.' He said he could only get rid of the damp in the kitchen because if he did the bedroom it would come back in two months.
"Someone needs to be coming round checking on these flats. We need a warden. Recently there was a dog that kept peeing outside our door and after a while it was smelling really bad. My father phoned the council up and they came four weeks later. My dad and I do our best to keep the building tidy ourselves. We have to live among it."
She added that tenants are often offered drugs by 18- to 21-year-olds smoking crack cocaine and cannabis on the estate. "They will say, 'Are you after anything?'"
Ms Underhill was walking into her building around three years ago when she felt a man's breath from behind and he ripped a gold chain from her neck. The item, a gift from her mother, was important to Ms Underhill, who said she made a report to police but no arrest was made. It is rare to see officers patrol the area, she told us.
Outside the flats, large areas of grass were covered with litter and torn-open bags of rubbish. Inside the blocks, many of the floors had amassed piles of discarded items and one top-floor landing contained a hot tub and deckchair. Several used dog poo bags had been left on one floor and some kind of animal droppings could be seen on another.
One 29-year-old mum gave a resigned laugh as she pointed at the cigarette ends and the rotting potato littered near her door. She said: "I don't smoke and that's not my potato either." Tenants are told to leave rubbish outside their block but it can build up on the landings and the council does not remove it, she added.
"That rubbish has been here for weeks," she said. "One of the downstairs tenants is always cleaning the communal area. If it wasn't for him the place would be stinking. I can never get hold of the council. I get put on hold or I get told to ring back."
The woman, who lives with her eight-year-old daughter, recently came into an inheritance large enough to buy a house and feels relieved that she will soon be leaving Heol Gwyrosydd, even though she likes the "really nice" community spirit of most people in the area. During her year on the estate, the only time she has seen council officers in her building was around six months ago when one gave her a carbon monoxide alarm.
"I don't think the council should house people in these flats if they've got kids," she said. "Just before Christmas some teenagers broke the panel at the entrance. They were going round booting people's doors at 10pm. My daughter was terrified. Her friends would sometimes knock for her to play with them, but she'd only go out if I went out as well and watched her.
"I can see where the council are coming from when it comes to the spending, because they only did the front door in the middle of last year and it has been smashed already. It's almost a Catch 22."
The mum was recently alarmed by a video shared in the local Facebook group which showed a mother trying to push a child in a buggy through the estate while being taunted by a young man. "He was circling around them and he wouldn't let them walk through," she said.
Penlan has good amenities for youngsters including a leisure centre and football pitches, but these have not stopped antisocial behaviour affecting the estate. The woman believes the lack of a police presence has seen the culprits grow in confidence. Penlan police station, which appeared to be closed when we visited the area, was damaged by a fire in 2018 which started when a man set a police car alight.
For years, many of the walls in the communal areas have been badly stained and covered with obscene drawings or scrawls but residents have been told they are not allowed to repaint, one 25-year-old mum claimed. She has lived in a two-bed flat for five years but with four children — aged one to nine — it has become extremely cramped. Two of her girls sleep in one bedroom and two in the other, while she and her partner sleep in the living room. The family have been on the waiting list for four years.
Cradling her one-year-old daughter, the woman said: "I just want to move. I don't really go out and I won't let my nine-year-old out. She wants to go out and I say no. I don't want her getting in the wrong crowd.
"The mess is normal for here. I do my best to sweep up but I haven't seen the council come here to clean once in five years. We have looked into privately renting but it's really expensive right now."
Ms Underhill's dad David has lived in their flat for nine years — three longer than his daughter — and has been waiting for a transfer for seven years. The 55-year-old has a condition called spinal stenosis and sometimes needs a wheelchair to get around but the hall is very narrow. He said the council has offered him alternative accommodation on several occasions but all of the options had stairs. Mr Underhill claims he had warned the council "time and again" that such homes would not be suitable because of his disability.
Another reason for his hope to move away is his fear over the safety of the estate. Glass from the wing mirrors of his Ford Focus has been stolen seven times, most recently a few weeks ago. Just before Christmas, Mr Underhill's bedroom window was vandalised with a heavy stone. And he is often disturbed by youths tearing around the estate's green space on quad bikes. The many marks they leave almost resemble crop circles. "You don't see police patrolling up here," he said.
A spokesperson for the council said: "During the last 20 years Swansea Council has invested £550million into its housing stock to improve the standard and quality of the 13,600 council homes in our city which have included the blocks at Heol Gwyrosydd. This has included new kitchens, bathrooms and environmental improvements around tenants’ homes as well as improved insulation.
"Our housing service has a daily presence in this area which includes staff from the local area housing office, estate caretaking team and neighbourhood support unit. They currently provide daily checks in the Penlan area which include checks to communal areas, green spaces, lanes, and walkways/footpaths, and will also respond to reports made to us regarding flytipping, offensive graffiti or damage on housing land.
"The neighbourhood support unit, who are available 24 hours a day, visit the area regularly in relation to a variety of issues including reports of antisocial behaviour, maintenance issues, flytipping, and welfare checks. We encourage tenants to report any repairs to the housing repairs contact centre or via the housing portal. Tenants can register for the housing portal by visiting www.swansea.gov.uk/myhousing.
"Issues such as antisocial behaviour or flytipping should be reported to the police or local area housing office as appropriate. Whilst the estate caretakers will inspect communal areas on a regular basis, as part of their tenancy conditions tenants are expected to keep communal areas clear and not store or dispose of items in these areas.
"There are CCTV cameras in the area and any concerns detected are acted on with support from the police where needed. Our repair records indicate that repairs reported by [the Underhills] were responded to. However, we will arrange for an inspection to be carried out at their property to establish if any further action is needed."
Simon Trick, policing inspector for Gorseinon and Penlan, said South Wales Police is aware of concerns about crime and antisocial behaviour in Heol Gwyrosydd. “Such unacceptable behaviour can prove intimidating and unpleasant for residents," he said.
“Robustly tackling these issues remain a priority for local officers and there are regular patrols in the area. As always, we would be very keen to hear from residents who can provide information on those responsible for crime and antisocial behaviour. We continue to work with Swansea Council to find longer-term solutions to tackle antisocial behaviour and criminal activity.”
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