Agenda item

Katie White, Andover TRA, Janet  Manderson, Girdlestone TRA and Ken Kanu, Help on Your Doorstep were present for discussion of this item and gave evidence to the Committee.

Julie Billett, Director of Public Health was also present together with Damian Dempsey, Housing and Adult Social Services.

During consideration of the evidence the following main points were made –

·         The Girdlestone Estate had been built in 1975/76 and 95% of the properties suffered from some sort of dampness problem

·         The problems of dampness on the estate has led to instances of depression, respiratory problems, allergies, coughs and colds, and the issue affected flats on all levels not just the ground floors

·         There had been constant issues with the Council in resolving these problems and tenants often gave up however major works were planned in the future and it was hoped that these would remedy the problems

·         There seemed to be a number of causes of the dampness problems on the estate including leaks from central heating pipes, roofing, lack of DPC, balconies etc.

·         There were also problems with leaks from the flat above the Community Centre, which was a leasehold flat and there had been ongoing problems with the Council and the leaseholder in resolving this issue which meant the Community Centre often cannot be used. Councillor Nicholls stated that he would investigate this issue with the TRA and the Housing Department

·         The Committee were informed that a programme of works is being drawn up on the Girdlestone Estate and a pilot scheme would shortly be started with  a rolling programme of major works commencing in 2017/18 for the rest of the estate, however there may still be the difficulty of accessing leasehold flats where there were central heating pipe problems

·         The Andover TRA stated that there were not only problems in the new Andover blocks but the old blocks as well and may flats suffered from dampness problems

·         There was poor communication by the Council when faults were reported and often tenants requested a report or feedback following a surveyors visit and this never happened and tenants often gave up and continued to live in damp conditions

·         The Andover TRA stated that there were similar medical complaints of tenants to those at Girdlestone Estate, respiratory problems, coughs/colds, asthma, especially in children, and tenants suffered depression, both caused by the problems and the difficulties in getting it rectified. Housing officers did not respond to e mails or enquiries and tenants never got feedback on visits and often problems remain unresolved or the dampness was just painted over

·         It was stated that the pilot scheme on the Andover Estate is in relation to the new blocks

·         The Andover Estate TRA also made reference to the problems that some tenants had experienced in relation to the installation of new kitchens and bathrooms and that this had caused condensation due to cupboards being placed in front of the air bricks

·         In some flats the dampness was so bad children had to sleep in the sitting room

·         The Housing officer stated that he did not consider that it was satisfactory if tenants had not received responses and he would contact the TRA to visit the estate and take up with officers the lack of responses issue

·         The view was expressed that there were also problems on the New River Green and Elthorne Estates that had been picked up by Help on Your Doorstep in relation to dampness problems

·         A number of vulnerable residents were affected by damp problems and 25% of those supported by Help on Your Doorstep are elderly. In addition there are families with young children that are affected and recurring medical themes are respiratory problems, allergies, infections, skin complaints and mental health problems

·         Many residents also complained about the smell of damp in their properties and it lingering on their clothes and Help on Your Doorstep referred to a 93 year old woman that they were assisting and had been trying to rectify her dampness problems for 6 years and it was still ongoing

·         In response to a question it was stated that the dampness problems in the old blocks were experienced on all floors. Councillor Heather indicated that he had visited the estate to see the problems and he felt that some of them were caused by a leaking water tank in the roof and he had discussed this with the surveying team

·         The Committee expressed the view that there needed to be a systematic look at the problems on the Girdlestone and Andover Estates. Members were informed that there is a pilot taking place on the new blocks at the Andover and then major works would take place and similarly on the Girdlestone, however it appeared the old blocks on the Andover Estate, that were not scheduled for works needed further investigation

·         The Committee requested that they receive six monthly updates on the progress of works on Andover and Girdlestone Estates, once they commence

·         Help on Your Doorstep is an outreach/referral service that is a door knocking service for residents that refers residents on to a wide range of Council and other services, The service tried to focus on vulnerable residents and had identified a significant number of dampness  problems and is the most common housing issue for residents

·         Help on Your Doorstep stated that a common complaint from residents was that housing officers never responded to them and in the end they gave up and continued living in poor damp conditions. To date Help on Your Doorstep had identified 261 cases associated with dampness in the last 5 years

·         Clients offered received multiple visits from surveyors and then did not get any feedback or work done and even on the occasions where work is carried out it is often superficial. Whilst it is recognised that dampness is often expensive to remedy it is also not pleasant for those residents having to live in damp properties

·         The Committee were of the view that the evidence strongly seemed to suggest that there needed to be a better communications strategy with residents and that where there were dampness problems copies of surveyors reports should be provided to tenants when they requested them and that this may well be one of the recommendations arising from the scrutiny review

·         Reference was also made to the fact that a number of residents had communication problems as English was not their first language and that in such cases these should be sent to a relative of friend who could translate it for them

·         Councillor Heather stated that he had experienced similar lack of communication issues with officers when reporting complaints and that the problems on the Andover Estate needed to be systematically assessed. In connection with the major remedial works on the Andover Estate, public meetings had been held and future meetings will be held with residents to keep them informed and discuss proposals

·         In response to a question Help on Your Doorstep stated that they had information on the database in relation to the health problems suffered by residents that they assisted and Members requested that this should be circulated to Members, with names etc. anonymised

The Chair thanked Katie White, Jan Manderson and Ken Kanu for attending