OUT OF ORDER
PEOPLE LIVING IN VICTORIA CENTRE FLATS SAY THEY FEEL ‘TRAPPED’ BECAUSE LIFTS ARE ‘CONTINUOUSLY BREAKING DOWN’
PEOPLE living in the Victoria Centre flats say they feel “trapped” because lifts in the tower block are “continuously breaking down”.
Completed in 1972, the apartments remain the tallest building in Nottingham, at up to 26 floors high.
The flats above the Victoria Centre, and the lifts in the flats block, are managed by Nottingham City Homes.
Residents rely on the lifts to reach the shopping centre and leave their flats, and have spoken of regular problems.
Some residents said it felt like nothing was being done.
Kev Williams, 57, who has lived in his flat since 2007, said he is dependent on the lifts because of a disability.
“I feel trapped,” said Mr Williams. “The place has changed so much since I moved in. It is no longer suitable for me. The lifts not working has massively affected me. It just wears you
I had to walk up 24 floors. It took me over an hour as I had to take breaks
Gary Thorpe
down, I miss out on a lot of things as I can’t get there. “I’ve complained but I didn’t get very far.
“We are being heard but nothing is being done.” Managers at Nottingham City Homes [NCH] said the lifts do tens of thousands of journeys each month.
And they said staff carry out maintenance on the lifts each month to minimise inconvenience. One of the main reasons for lifts not working is because doors are being held open for long periods of time, making the lifts isolate because of possible obstructions.
NCH said the company was also aware of people accessing the lift shafts and causing disruption to services, which it is investigating. Retired Gary Thorpe, 56, lives on the 24th floor – and is reliant on some of the lifts.
He said: “The lifts have been continuously breaking down. It is terrible.
“I have mobility issues and it makes me feel trapped here.
“The lift went out of service when I was coming back with food shopping so I had to walk up 24 floors. It took me over an hour as I had to take breaks.
“You have to think about taking the chance to leave as you don’t know if the lift will work when you get back. It’s awful.”
Mr Thorpe claims the building isn’t suitable for disabled tenants.
He added: “I’ve suggested they put all the people with major disabilities on the first floor.
“It’s very dangerous and is quite scary. It makes me feel trapped, I know other residents feel the same.”
Residents said that a notice seen on the lifts highlighted an issue with “lift surfers” in the building.
A Nottingham City Homes spokesperson said: “The lifts at Victoria Centre flats do on average between 20,000 to 35,000 journeys a month. We carry out proactive planned maintenance on the lifts each month to minimise any further inconvenience caused by unplanned issues.
“One of the main reasons that the lifts stop working is because doors are being held open for long periods of time and this makes the lifts isolate as it thinks there are obstructions and they stop working.
“However, we have challenging response times with our contractors who send out engineers as soon as possible to look at the issue and get them running again.
“We are aware of people accessing the lift shafts and disrupting lifts, which is incredibly dangerous. We are investigating and using CCTV footage to identify them and we will look to prosecute them.”