RESIDENTS in an apartment block in Droitwich say they have had to navigate communal areas in almost total darkness at night for months, claiming the landlord had failed to rectify lighting issues.
Private rented tenant, Helena Vegum, has been pushing for the problems at Hillend Flats to be rectified as she fears for the safety of herself and elderly neighbours.
She said both the motion activated and emergency lights in the hallways and stairwells at the Platform Housing Group managed property had remained out of order since June.
Platform have been aware of the issue since the summer and despite sending at least 10 contractors out to solve the problem, tenants say the maintenance remains unresolved.
Helena told the Standard: “I’m not trying to be over-dramatic, but this is a major health and safety issue.
“We’re a community who looks after each other here and it’s not good enough.”
Contractors have been sent in attempts to solve the issue as recently as Tuesday but residents say the problem was only fixed momentarily before lights failed again.
Residents believe a continuing cycle of miscommunication between contractors and Platform is leading to workers arriving without a full understanding of the issues while information relayed to
Platform is not being properly taken in, understood or acted upon.
After months of frustration, Helena has reached out her local Droitwich Spa Town councillor, Neil Franks, who says he is just as frustrated with the lack of problem solving and communication as residents.
“This has been a serious risk for quite some time and the failure seemingly does not meet service level agreements.
“I’m very disappointed with the communication from Platform, although this has improved as I’ve pushed the issue.”
As per a typical service level agreement between tenants and landlords, health and safety issues of this nature are required to be rectified within 24 hours.
The Droitwich East councillor and the Standard were told on Wednesday morning the issue had been resolved.
Marion Duffy, chief operations officer at Platform Housing Group, said: “We are sorry there have been problems with the lights in the communal area at Hillend Flats.
“We are pleased to report our contractors have attended and they are all now in good working order.”
Helena claimed that – as of Wednesday evening – this was not the case and shared images of the hallways and stairwells in darkness.
