Misery could soon be over
Pictured is Councillor Keith Moore inspecting a damp patch in an OAPs bugalow on Belvedere Crescent Goole. Picture: Tony Saxton L1521TS
A GROUP of elderly people who have suffered years of damp and mould in their council bungalows in Goole are celebrating after being told their misery could soon be over.
The residents of a number of properties in Northway, Belvedere Crescent and Ilkeston Avenue have had to contend with wet walls, black and green mould and peeling wallpaper for more years than they can remember.
One resident said she had been complaining about the situation since she moved into her Belvedere Crescent home 12 years ago. “I kept ringing the council at first but got nowhere and so gave up but I have neighbours who have continued contacting and contacting the council for many years,” said the resident, who did not wish to be named.
“The top of the bedroom wall has been wet and black with mould spores and then water started to come down the hall walls and when you walk across the floors you can tell they are loose.
“It is horrible and it smells, particularly in the bad weather and I have been told that it is dangerous to breathe in the black spores as they can cause cancer.”
While the situation had been slightly improved with the installation of central heating, said the resident, it had not been solved.
Ward councillor, Keith Moore, said he had been contacted by a resident a year ago. “I was horrified when I saw the conditions people were living in but this has taken a long time to resolve because the council received advice that the conditions were down to rooms not being properly ventilated and furniture being placed too close to external walls.
“I used to work in the construction industry and I was never convinced by this. I kept pressurising the council to look at the situation again. Then, recently, a property became vacant and they took up part of the floor to discover there was no damp proof membrane. A protimeter damp monitor was used and all readings showed evidence of rising damp.”
In a letter to Coun Moore, Nigel Leighton, East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s Director of Environment and Neighbourhood Services, said that more detailed investigations and surveys are now to be undertaken to identify which properties are affected.
“Once the full extent of the problem has been identified, costed solutions will be considered and I will report back with these findings and recommendations for remedial action/timescale for works to be completed,” he added.
Coun Moore said: “I have been very pleased with the speed of the response after Nigel Leighton got involved.”
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Weather for Goole
Monday 20 May 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 10 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 7 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North
