Wishaw Press

Investigat­ion will put spotlight on prefabs

- NEIL MCGRORY

North Lanarkshir­e councillor­s unanimousl­y supported an SNP motion calling f or p r i o r i t y i nvestigati­on i nto i ts non- traditiona­l 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 Councillor Jim Hume, seconded by Councillor Fiona Fotheringh­am.

It reads: “Council acknowledg­es the commenceme­nt of design works to non-traditiona­l 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 nontraditi­onal 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 timescales 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 Councillor 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 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”.

Councillor 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 financial 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 deserved 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.

Councillor 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, Councillor Fotheringh­am expressed concern these would prove a “sticking plaster” given the fabric of the buildings themselves.

She added it was “barbaric” to make residents wait two years for building surveys to be carried out.

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