Residents suffer 25 years of leaks in flats

RESIDENTS of flats in Fishponds are fed up with water dripping through ceilings and even electrical fittings into their homes - as a result of leaks they say have been getting worse for 25 years.

People living at College Court, off College Road, say building owner Sovereign Housing Association has not treated the issue as urgent.

But with an inquest recently linking mould and damp to the death of a child elsewhere in the country, they something needs to be done to protect small children who live in some of the 78 flats on the estate.

Residents Julia and Terry Gilborson said people in the ground and first floor flats suffered rain water coming through their ceilings from balconies in the flats above.

Julia said: "Some of us have had this problem with rain coming in for over 25 years, but it has gradually got worse.

"Sovereign had a programme three years ago to completely reline and repair the balconies but this has only made matters worse. We are living with buckets and bowls, and some people have no lights because of water pouring through light fittings, in both our kitchens and living rooms.

"Sovereign’s response has been that it’s not urgent but they will look into it in the future. We have had this same response over the years and are at the end of our tether."

Sovereign says it had previously had two separate surveys done to try and identify the source of the leak but these were unsuccessful as the leaks "appear infrequently and on an irregular basis".

However a visit by "specialist structural engineers and water ingress experts" in February appeared to have made a breakthrough.

A spokesperson said: "Our early assessments told us that the leaks only appear to occur when heavy rainfall is accompanied by strong westerly winds.

"The engineers were able to simulate these conditions and carry out testing. Early indications suggest that they have now identified a likely source of water ingress.

"We are waiting to receive the formal report from the structural specialists. As soon as we receive this and review the findings in full, we will contact our customers at College Court to let them what our next steps will be.

"Engineers will be returning early next month to continue their work and help us bring this matter to a close."

The spokesperson said they were not aware of reports of damp and mould at the affected homes but would "tackle it straight away" if reported.