Council housing firm is 'failing its tenants'

Laindon Park councillor John Dornan hit out at the repairs service of St George’s Community Housing.

Mr Dornan, who sits on the community housing’s governing board, said the group is letting housing estates “fall into disrepair”.

He was speaking at a meeting of the board designed to look at priorities for the year ahead.

Mr Dornan said: “I’m sad to say we are dramatically failing our tenants. All we’re doing is carrying out piecemeal repairs and allowing whole estates, such as Noak Bridge, to fall into disrepair.

“We need to get back to basics and concentrate on fixing people’s houses properly.”

Mr Dornan also criticised the board for rubber stamping broad principles set out by housing officers in the St George’s 2009/10 Delivery Plan. Last summer, the Echo highlighted a catalogue of failings in St George’s repairs service.

Mr Dornan said these problems remained, particularly on the Noak Bridge estate, which he said is suffering from damp as the guttering of homes overflows whenever it rains.

He added: “It all needs to be replaced, but we’re only patching up little bits of guttering when we get a complaint.

“It means more and more homes are suffering from damp and leaks, which will cost more to repair in the long term.”

Billericay East councillor David Dadds was also critical of the Delivery Plan.

Both were told to be quiet by Sandra Hillier, who chaired the meeting.

Mrs Hillier, who is also Basildon Council’s vice-chairman, argued St George’s would only pass an imminent Government inspection and qualify for an additional £143million of funding, if it followed the broad principles set out in the Delivery Plan.

She said: “At the moment, we have to do the best we can with the short change we have got.”

St George’s failed a Government inspection earlier this year, which would have qualified it for millions in extra funding.

St George’s was set up last April to manage Basildon Council’s 12,000 homes.