Housing Executive closure will disadvantage staff and vulnerable tenants in Waterside, says Middleton

Transcript

00:00I understand the need for many of our public bodies and organisations to transform and

00:05become more efficient. However, I want to raise this morning to raise concerns about

00:11proposals from the Housing Executive within Londonderry. They have proposals to close

00:17four of the existing offices in my constituency, Collum Terrace, Waterside, Richmond Chambers

00:24in Waterloo Place. They want to consolidate those four offices into one in the City Centre

00:31at Carlyle House. This raises a number of key concerns, not least for those in the Waterside

00:37office. I have been in touch with many of the staff who feel that they will be disadvantaged

00:42when they move, not least in terms of their parking and their capacity to meet with constituents,

00:48but also just in terms of meeting with those most vulnerable within the Waterside. My constituents

00:53will suffer as well because, again, that face-to-face offering within the Waterside will cease to

01:00be if this consultation goes in the direction that it is currently going. I recently have

01:07met with the North West Road Safety Partnership about issues at the proposed new site where

01:13these other offices will be consolidated. There are ongoing parking issues and challenges

01:18which continue to exist there. I wanted to highlight that this afternoon and encourage people to

01:24respond to the consultation which closes on June 9. It is important that when we look at efficiencies

01:30that we also are mindful that closing these offices are not the way to go, given the fact that

01:36many people rely on that face-to-face support. Thank you, Mr Speaker.