Life on the Freehold estate now

A notorious Rochdale estate was well-known for all the wrong reasons – the death of a toddler, poor housing conditions and crime. But life is finally getting better on Freehold.

On a cold autumn day the sun is shining through the weaving paths and stairwells of the estate, perfectly reflecting the growing sense of warmth and positivity felt locally.

Since the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died in one of the flats following prolonged exposure to mould, Freehold has been marred with a dark reputation.

The estate came to national prominence as the scene of the unthinkable tragedy, which sparked the creation of Awaab’s Law, coming into effect on October 27.

The law requires social landlords to fix emergency hazards and all damp and mould hazards that pose significant risks to tenants within fixed timeframes.

We went to speak to Freehold residents to understand how things have changed, five years on from Awaab’s death.

Strolling through the green spaces between the blocks of flats with his dog Tyson is Chris Millington. He credited landlord Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) with getting its act together since Awaab’s death.

The 60-year-old said:

“RBH have been great in making sure damp problems are seen to straight away. They’ve done surveys without people reporting problems as well.

“14 years I’ve been here and there has been a lot of change because of that. Before that it used to take a lot longer to get things done.

“They’ve got ahead of it even though it’s not even in law yet. Anti-social behaviour has been cleared out as well.

“I think Awaab’s death has brought a positive change for Freehold. But it shouldn’t need to come to that.”

Chris was one of many Freehold tenants who have noted significant improvement in the way RBH have been operating and communicating with them.

Edlingham resident Tamin Sadiqi was taking a break in the sun before his upcoming nightshift. He told the LDRS: “If we have any problems RBH will fix it in about 24 hours. I’m pretty happy with it around here currently.

“23 years I’ve been here and in the last two years it’s gotten a lot better. Before that there were long waits for repairs or sorting damp and mould.

“Now when you ring there are specific phone options for certain issues.

“The police presence came last year for crime and anti-social behaviour but I never saw any problems, I didn’t think it was bad.

“I’ve been in Freehold for 23 out of the 25 I’ve been in England so I must like it. It’s quiet here, the housing is cheaper, close to the schools and the town centre and transport links. There is good green space as well.”

But not everyone is convinced by the effectiveness of the work implemented by RBH.

One local passing by shouted over: “Mould, there is still an issue for us. It’s not all got better just yet.”

RBH’s Damp and Mould Taskforce has been in place since December 2022 and the social housing landlord says they’ve been ‘working hard to identify and resolve issues around damp, mould and condensation at the earliest opportunity’.

An RBH spokesperson said:

“We continue to take a proactive approach to keeping our homes safe and free from damp and mould, and regularly reach out to our customers on the estate. Overall instances of damp and mould are much reduced across all our homes, and this is also the case for Freehold.

“We also contact our customers who have had damp and mould a number of times after the initial treatment and repairs, and recurrence rates have halved in the last 12 months.

“In Freehold, recurrence rates are lower than those across all our homes, demonstrating the positive impact our investment in the quality and safety of our homes has had, delivering improved outcomes for our customers.”

It’s not just the damp and mould that’s been the issue on Freehold though. Anti-social behaviour, drug dealing and petty crime became such a problem the whole estate was shut down last year.

November 4, 2024 marked the date Greater Manchester Police shut down Freehold, banning anyone other than residents from accessing the 19 blocks of flats in an extraordinary measure.

The closure order, in place for three months, came amidst a litany of reports of crime rocking the area, with drug dealing rife and residents having to walk past people ‘doing their business in the stairwells’.

The LDRS visited the estate at the time to see how residents felt about the lockdown. Susan Hurn said she felt tormented at the hands of the gangs on the estate.

Speaking previously, she said:

“I’ve lived in the same flat for 14 years and I’m afraid to go out at night. You have to walk past them doing their drugs, swearing, and they’re even doing their business (defecating and urinating) on the stairwells.

“Before it wasn’t too bad because it was family oriented, but there is no green space anymore (which put a stop to that). I’m scared of leaving the flat, especially at night. I’m 57, I shouldn’t have to be worrying about that.

“During the day, it’s not too bad, but as soon as it gets dark – that’s when it all starts. Even the police don’t get out of their cars when they come here, that’s how bad it is.”

Almost one year on from that, the closure order has been lifted and residents are feeling safer and more positive about life on Freehold. According to Kevin Drake, it’s not perfect yet, but it’s much better than it was.

Donning a mask to stave off cold and flu viruses, the 55-year-old said: “They said they’d crack down on dealers and they have. We know there are drug users on the estate so it’s not gone away.

“It’s quieter than it was – which is something.”

Speaking on damp and mould improvements as well as general wear and tear fixes, Kevin added:

“They’re definitely concentrating on damp and mould. We are getting repairs for that but not others.

“Everything apart from damp and mould doesn’t seem to matter as much. I’ve been here for about five years. It seems that they’ve done a lot recently.

“Damp and mould is now the priority. Everyone is getting new doors and windows.

“But we had cracks and holes but that took about six weeks to sort.”

David Jones, was walking his cavapoo Ted along the path that circles the Freehold estate, just a stone’s throw from Mandale Park. He agreed with Kevin’s thoughts about damp and mould being prioritised by RBH over other jobs.

However, he was understanding of this, given the grave circumstances the action came on the back of.

Giving an overview of life on Freehold, the 58-year-old told the LDRS:

“I had my cupboard doors sorted because I had fractures in my back so I can’t bend down. It took them three weeks to come out to do that – so some things are quick but some things aren’t.

“You can’t blame them for prioritising the damp and mould though. They’re onto damp and mould issues quickly.

“Things are more positive on the estate now. I do blame the RBH for the Awaab situation as it shouldn’t have gotten to that point.

“I can’t see that being the case again, because if you report it they’re straight out. It won’t happen again, I think they’ve learnt from that – I really believe that.

“Since all the Awaab stuff and the police presence sorting the drug dealing it’s better all round.

“It’s a nicer place to live now. I’ve been here 10 years and the last two have been the best, it’s improved.

“It’s terrible to say it’s taken that to sort this out. It should never have come to that.”

Siobhan McCoy, director of property services at RBH, said:

“The most important thing to us is our customers live in safe, warm and comfortable homes.

“Over the last 18 months our teams have been working hard to ensure we are ready for the introduction of Awaab’s Law, and we have reviewed and improved all our work processes and practices. We have also introduced a new Repairs and Maintenance Policy with reduced target timescales for carrying out many of our repairs so that customers are having their repairs carried out more quickly.

“We continue to urge all our customers to report any potential issue with damp, mould or condensation in their homes to us as soon as they can, so we can act quickly to investigate and resolve any issues.

“If we identify any emergency repairs we will continue to address them within 24 hours. Our teams will also investigate all potential hazards, including damp and mould, within 10 working days and if an emergency hazard is found, we will act within 24 hours.

“As part of our well embedded all round approach to tackling the issue, colleagues who visit homes as part of their daily work are regularly reminded that if they spot signs of damp and mould to report it as soon as possible if the customer hasn’t done so already. When our customers contact us, we also ask them whether they have any concerns about damp and mould in their homes and book an inspection to investigate any issues.

“We are already planning ahead for the expansion of the scope of Awaab’s Law, beyond mould and damp, over the next two years.

“We are pleased that residents of Freehold are positive about the work we and our partners are doing to improve the estate. We know there is still work to do and this is continuing on a daily basis. This includes working with our partners to take a zero tolerance approach to crime and anti-social behaviour on the estate.

“We are committed to improving the Freehold neighbourhood, and as part of this work we will be delivering a phased investment programme of around £5m in improvements to the blocks, including new measures to improve safety within the blocks and stairwells. We’ve had some great feedback from the community who have helped us to shape these plans.”

Customers can make a report about damp and mould via MyRBH or by calling the Contact Centre freephone on 
0800 027 7769
.