Produced by the North Kenton Residents Group, with the assistance of Swingbridge Video, a film that allows those involved to share experiences, problems and tactics used between 1977 and 1982 to get Newcastle City Council to acknowledge the issue of dampness affecting more than two-thirds of properties on the estate and to rectify the situation with suitable insulation and new central heating systems. Title: Don’t Talk Wet Title: Dry Up Title: Tenants Campaign for Action General views of...

Produced by the North Kenton Residents Group, with the assistance of Swingbridge Video, a film that allows those involved to share experiences, problems and tactics used between 1977 and 1982 to get Newcastle City Council to acknowledge the issue of dampness affecting more than two-thirds of properties on the estate and to rectify the situation with suitable insulation and new central heating systems. Title: Don’t Talk Wet Title: Dry Up Title: Tenants Campaign for Action General views of houses, flats and a playing fields on the North Kenton estate alongside images of posters and other display items created by members of the North Kenton Residents Group. A couple stand on a shopping precinct, he holds a poster that reads ‘Cure Our Damp Get Our Vote’ while his wife speaks into a megaphone about organising and getting things moving. Title: North Kenton Estate A history of the estate through a montage of still images and views of house, flats, and maisonettes on the estate. The houses were built quickly and not of good quality leading to the issues of damp. In her home a woman uses a poker to prod her coal fire, outside abandoned radiators which weren’t installed when some of the flats were built in the late 1940s early 1950s. On the side of a three-storey flats a road sign for ‘Kirkwood Drive’. Rubbish from an overturn bin in a storage area built into the flats, the door to the area broken and burned. Four teenagers walk through an estate past similar flats, signs of decay include holes in exterior walls, rotten wooden window frames and tile missing from roofs. A man sits in his living room wrapped in a blanket to keep warm. Title: DAMP – the effects A mixture of moving and still images showing examples of damp in people houses. Interview with one woman who can smell the damp. Wallpaper peeling off the wall due to the damp, corners of the room black with mould caused by the damp. An image of a baby in a bouncer in a corner next to damp. Title: DAMP – the causes Title: Rising Damp An exterior wall with a damp proof cause. Title: Building Materials An image of a plaster wall covered in damp, in front of it a table with plates and mugs. Title: Penetrating Damp Exterior of a property with broken guttering. Title: Condensation A woman wipes the condensation from a window inside her home. A woman walks along a path through the estate, in front of her a young girl on a pair of roller-skates. Around the estate a series of three-storey flats, some with washing hanging from balconies. Outside a row of terraced houses a small girl plays on her bicycle, in another street a child stands beside a street light. A dramatic sequence begins with two men in an office chatting, a female tenant tries to explain to these ‘council officers’ about the issues of damp in her home. They explain to her that it’s not damp rather condensation and the problems she is seeing is either not that serious or not their problem. They offer several pointless solutions to overcome some of her issues. Pages from an ‘Anti-Dampness Campaign’ information leaflet as well as protest posters produced by the North Kenton Residents Group. Sitting at a table the woman seen at the start of the film with a megaphone talks about the formation of a ‘damp action group’ and becoming part of a residence group to bring issues of damp to the council. However, the council refused to be convinced the issue was one of damp rather than condensation. She continues to talk about the work that’s been done on the estate to fight for adequate central heating systems. The man seen earlier in the film wrapped in a blanket talks about the issues of heating his home and that the council has done nothing to help him. The woman seen previously continues to talk about arranging a series of ten ‘street meeting’ with tenants and the success of a leafletting campaign in promoting said meetings. Back in the shopping precinct she and her husband continue to protest with her speaking into a megaphone to promote residential meetings. In the background people walk past listening. Back in home she talks about a successful way to get the council to do something was through local elections. Through the efforts of the group campaigning in the are several local councillors lost their seats. She also talks about two exhibitions that were held in the area to showcase the issues of dampness that have proven successful as they were seen by both by several councillors as well as the press. She talks about a damp survey that was conducted by the council in 1979, but which remained unknown or hidden until 1981. Another dramatic sequence featuring the two councillors seen earlier who discuss ways of not having to spend money in North Kenton. They end up throwing the damp survey in the bin. The woman continues to talk about their own studies carried out into the damp and the importance of having figures when speaking with officials from the council. She talks about a magazine the group produced called ‘Kenton Keyhole’ which is important in keeping both residents and the council informed of the group’s actions. She sees the importance of the press and the need to keep the local area reporter informed, they have also been on local radio campaigning. She talks about meetings with the Chairman of the Housing Management Committee which eventually led in August 1982 to the group succeeding in getting both insulation and boilers for all properties in North Kenton. A second woman talks about her efforts to get someone in the council to come check her flat for damp, it’s not easy. Returning to the previous woman who says that it is important to keep up the pressure on the council otherwise they won’t do anything. There is always something that you’ve got to fight for with the council. She talks about the challenges of organising people, the difficulty in finding people to help and the effort and costs of running an organisation such as this. She finishes by saying that you need to be one voice, or nobody will listen to you. Wrapped in his blanket the man seen earlier talks about his involvement in the group. The film ends back with the woman sitting at her table who talks about the importance of being part of various committees where you meet other people and can learn new tactics. A page from the Newcastle Tenants Federation Anti-Dampness Charter. She ends the films be reiterating some of the points made in the film about the needs to stick together and to stick to knowing what you want. Credit: Produced by North Kenton Residents Group with Newcastle Tenants Federation, Newcastle Tenants Project and North Kenton Community Health Project Title: Financial assistance Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Community Projects Foundation, Newcastle City Council Title: Thanks to all the tenants of North Kenton Estate and Change Gang Theatre Credit: Commentary ready by Barbara Dickenson Editing facilities Amber Films Edited by Hugh Kelly End title: © North Kenton Residents Group 1983