Weather
Irate councillor slams house repair service
From the Bolton Evening News, first published Wednesday 12th Jul 2000.
ANGRY Margaret Rothwell has launched a blistering attack on Bolton's council house repair service -- just nine weeks after being elected to the council.
Fuming Cllr Rothwell says the service to tenants is simply not good enough and accused housing staff of passing the buck and taking weeks to sort out the simplest of repairs.
She launched her stinging attack on housing chiefs after sitting through a slick computer presentation outlining the work of the direct labour organisation for new councillors.
Immediately afterwards Cllr Rothwell laid into officers claiming the glossy images and accompanying report were a world away from the housing department she had come across since being elected on May 5.
"I have only been on the council a short time but I have noticed that it is increasingly difficult to get housing repairs done," she told the environment scrutiny committee.
"I have a stack of complaints about repairs, some going back years, and I cannot get through them because each one takes so long to sort out.
"It had taken me four weeks to get an overgrown hedge at a property which has been empty for nine months cut back. Then, when I tried to get some rubble removed from the garden, I was told it depended on whose pile of plaster it was.
"I was told to find out which council department had left it there. It's just ridiculous and I am not impressed"
Another Lib Dem, Cllr Joseph Higson, said: "I think once you get through there is a good service but there has been this gap between housing and the DLO. The housing officials says they will ring up the DLO but then nothing happens.
"There is a chasm and if you do not jump it, the job does not get done."
But Labour councillors rallied to the defence of the service and Cllr Donald Grime, who is now responsible for the DLO, claimed the cases referred to by Cllr Rothwell are the exception rather than the rule.
He said: "We are doing 2000 repairs every week and we have a very low number of complaints. Generally speaking the system is very effective."
Cllr Carl Dennis agreed and said: "Ours is one of the best services of any local authority in the country.
Housing chief Tom Quayle-- who gave the presentation -- told Cllr Rothwell that his department does not have the cash to tackle a backlog of repairs created by increased demands from tenants, coupled with a high turnover of council houses.
He said housing chiefs were considering setting up a call centre specifically for repairs and this, added to a new computer system and a rubble hotline would improve the situation.
Local Information
Enter your postcode, town or place name
