The split was confirmed when three-hour long conciliatory talks, held at South Kilburn's London offices and chaired by an official from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, failed to find a way back.
The dispute surfaced earlier this month (HT 7 February, page 13) when South Kilburn sacked TPAS, saying "serious misconduct" had resulted in tenants being "misled" about their estates' £50m renewal.
TPAS maintained that it had simply fulfilled its role as impartial adviser to residents when plans for the NDC area had been produced by consultant Mace.
Tanya Samuel, chair of the South Kilburn NDC, said TPAS had confused residents by issuing thousands of leaflets which were interpreted as implying that masterplanning work had been completed when it had not. She said: "Residents complained that the language and approach used by TPAS was misleading."
She said TPAS had also failed to set up a residents' steering group as part of its £67,700 annual contract to ensure residents understood the work of the NDC and got what they wanted from it.
The meeting on Monday collapsed when TPAS refused to accept proposals to replace its three personnel working in South Kilburn. TPAS chief executive Phil Morgan said the allegations against the body had not been substantiated and that to allow the NDC to demand the removal of certain staff would be a "betrayal of the trust shown by residents".
He said: "We will be writing to Lord Rooker and will not walk away from the residents of South Kilburn." He said his staff had felt intimidated by "heated exchanges with NDC staff" concerning their impartiality.
Source
Housing Today
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