A Highbridge resident whose council home is plagued by damp has this week attacked Homes In Sedgemoor for telling her the soonest they can fix the problem is January 2013.
Tina Gray says faulty windows in her home are causing condensation to build up.
But when she complained to Homes In Sedgemoor – which oversees the maintenance of council properties in Burnham and Highbridge – she was told she faces a 17 month wait.
She told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “I could hardly believe my eyes when I received a letter telling me that the earliest they can sort out the problem is January 2013.”
But Sophie Harper, spokeswoman for Homes in Sedgemoor, defended the response.
She told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We are aware that Mrs Gray has double glazed windows in her property and that some of the double glazed units have failed.”
“Whilst this is by no means a situation that we take lightly, the reality is that most of the homes we manage don’t have double glazing at all and have disrepair issues that are of a much higher priority.”
“Regrettably, this coupled with limited resources means that the soonest we will be able to address the issue with the blown double glazed units in Mrs Gray’s home is in January 2013.”
“Although this seems far away, we have thoroughly assessed the windows to ensure that they are safe and not causing any other problems in the meantime, such as damp. Our surveyor visited Mrs Gray’s home and concluded that whilst the double glazed units aren’t in excellent condition, they are still thermally efficient and safe.”
She added: “Homes in Sedgemoor was unaware that Mrs Gray had issues regarding damp and would urge that she contacts us directly about this so we can work together to address her concerns. We hope Mrs Gray appreciates we are doing everything we can to repair her windows as soon as possible, whilst also managing our budgets and priorities in a way that is fair to all of our customers.”
