A woman is concerned her housing association is "wasting public money" on a new security gate after saying her house will not be repainted until 2026.

Heather Soper, of Queens Road in Finchley, was frustrated to be told her house could not be repainted until 2025/2026 due to cuts to their services, despite a new security gate with key opening rather than code lock being installed, which Ms Soper believes is unnecessary.

Ms Soper, who has lived in her property since 1975, is concerned that the new gate will be less secure than the old one, thus making it an even bigger waste of money which could be spent on her home, which was last painted in 1997.

She said: "They are giving a few crumbs but not doing what we really need."

She added: "The purposes of this gate is for security but keys can be copied."

Ms Soper had her windows cleared and work done on the front of the house, which left some of the paint chipped and scratched away, but on contacting Barnet Homes for it to be repainted was told "government cuts have meant that we are not in a position to do things like this as often as we would like" and the representative even cited Grenfell as a reason why finances must be spent on fire safety rather than painting houses.

But Ms Soper believes the gate could cost in the thousands to replace, which seems not to align with their assertions.

A spokesperson from Barnet Homes said: "We are currently in communication with Ms Soper to address her queries."