Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Housing stock to be evaluated
North Lanarkshire candidates unanimously supported an SNP motion calling for priority investigation into its nontraditional housing stock such as timber-clad properties after several residents raised concerns over their living conditions.
The motion was brought to the final meeting of the council term by would-be councillor Jim Hume, seconded by colleague Fiona Fotheringham.
It reads: “Council acknowledges the commencement of design works to nontraditional house types such as BISF and the delay in the pilot programme for differing timber clad properties such as Swedish Timber houses.
“Residents have raised a number of concerning aspects about these properties, particularly in relation to appearance, and poor insulation. Council agrees that structural surveys should be completed, as a matter of urgency, in all non-traditional housing stock to identify if homes are in fact suitable to progress or other alternative solutions need to be sought.
“A report should be prepared for housing and regeneration committee on the resource and cost implications of significantly reducing the time-scales for delivering the analysis for this Programme.
“Members can then decide on an appropriate response to the findings.”
BISF houses are prefab homes built by the British Iron and Steel Federation from 1946 onwards and are unconventional in that they are built on steel frames.
During the meeting Mr Hume thanked his colleagues for not seeking to alter the motion and said this was a matter which deserved to be investigated as a matter of priority.
He added that he and likely several other would-be councillors had been contacted by constituents about problems such as mould, poor heating and issues with the fabric of the housing in question and these circumstances “have not been helped by what is happening”.
Mr Hume spoke of the pressures facing people due to the cost of living crisis and said it seemed inevitable that many tenants would fall into arrears.
Many people have approached the Citizens’ Advice Bureau because of ficnancial pressures and this was exacerbated by the number of people now working at home since the pandemic.
He also said he had been impressed by new council housing in Wishaw which promised low heating costs and that existing tenants desrved as much assistance as possible.
“I have been informed that 2500 homes still have storage heating in North Lanarkshire, and that there are no clear statistics on loft insulation,” he added.
Ms Fotheringham, seconding, said that as a fellow Wishaw representative she had seen first hand the issues affecting tenants in non-traditional housing stock which was “undoubtedly below the standard we would expect for our council tenants”.
She added that residents of these houses were “extremely disappointed” at their living conditions having seen the quality of “futureproofed” council housing and this was what had caused the motion to be raised.
She said cracks had been found in the walls of these houses which had a core temperature of 4.5 degrees Celsius during the winter, resulting in the constant use of fans and the growth of black mould and fears over water in the electrics.
Although improvements were planned for these houses, Ms Fotheringham expressed concern these would prove a “sticking plaster” given the fabric of the buildings themselves.
She added it was “unthinkable” to and “barbaric” to make residents wait two years for building surveys to be carried out.
Provost Jean Jones, chairing the meeting, noted the unanimous support for the motion.