Concerns persist at Rose Heath Manor
Autumn Crest is not the only property owned by Eastern Mainland Housing in Pictou County that John Anderson has lived in. Rose Heath Manor is located in Little Harbour.
On July 10, 2009, a septic backup flooded the main floor with water mixed with sewage. According to the then-director of Eastern Mainland Housing, Nadine Fraser-Bates, in an interview with The News at the time, only two units were flooded.
That’s where John Anderson was living at the time and one of the flooded units was his. Eastern Mainland Housing paid for the Andersons stay in a motel until July 15. That’s when they left Rose Heath Manor and moved to Autumn Crest. But for other residents, there are still concerns.
Rose Heath Manor sits about 50 metres back from the road and there are two large trees on the lawn out front. The small black civic numbers are on wall next to the front door.
There used to be a bigger sign closer to the road, but that sign blew down in the summer.
“A couple of times now the ambulance has been called out here and they’ve drove right by,” said one resident of the building who did not want to be named. “Some ambulances come from Antigonish, so they don’t know. They don’t know the area. They drive by and then in a minute or two they come back. But a minute or two can be life and death.”
Matthew Weir owns a house across the street from Rose Heath Manor. He says the sign was put up again after it blew down. But then it blew down a second time.
“It hasn’t been up since,” said Weir.
“They’re not the fastest people to get anything done, put it that way,” added another tenant. “And things have to get pretty bad before the gig is up.”
Tenants have also raised safety concerns about fire-code violations in the hallways.
“I’ve lodged quite a few complaints, mostly safety issues and things,” said another tenant who has lived there for the last five years. “People with things in the hallways. If there was ever a fire and the hallway filled with smoke then firemen could very well trip over that, same with people trying to get out.”