After our councillors' surgery, I accompany Harlow Council's vice-chair of housing, Cllr Lesley Rideout, to Barleycroft. The estate hasn't been painted for twelve years, so the wooden fascias and the garden fences are looking rather the worse for wear. They're on the list for painting next year, but the problems facing this estate - and Lower Meadow next door - are far from straightforward.

These houses were built forty years ago with a life of 25 years, and bringing them up to a good standard for local residents is therefore - to put it mildly - a problem. The cost of basic improvements will be far more than the council receives in rent from the estate; and at the moment it's not clear where that money would come from. But residents have a right to expect their area to look reasonable, and their homes to be warm and watertight.