The future of a sheltered housing complex in Dumbarton remains unclear as West Dunbartonshire Council investigates the scale of dampness experienced by residents.
The local authority is expected to carry out further dampness and mould surveys at Willox Park, which was built in the 1960s and is made up of 36 terraced bungalows.
Over the years the homes have received replacement roof and external wall insulation alongside investment in bathrooms, kitchens and windows but tenants are still complaining of dampness and draughts in their properties.
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Following initial inspections, council officers agreed that specialist advice was needed and instructed several in-depth surveys at an empty property which found evidence of rising damp which, if present in all the properties, may have implications for the long-term integrity of the buildings.
They are now looking for a couple of tenants to volunteer their homes for an invasive damp survey, which will monitor moisture in the walls and floors over a number of weeks. This means that replacement kitchen, bathrooms and windows have been put on hold.
During this morning’s housing and communities committee, concerns were raised about the lack of progress and the amount of time it was taking to address the mould and dampness issue.
Labour councillor David McBride said: “My concern is, while I welcome the report, I was actually expecting it to have gone much further than this based on previous discussions.
“I was expecting to have reached a master plan by now. When we spoke about the new builds in Willox Park we were very clear we were going to be bringing a report that was going to look at the value of retaining and upgrading the existing buildings or moving to potential demolition.
“I am slightly disappointed we have not got there and we still have some investigations to carry out. This has been ongoing for quite some time. Before we agree to no more letting I would be looking for a definitive time scale that we will make a decision on the future of this because it has been dragging on for a wee bit longer than I had hoped for.”
Peter Barry, chief officer of housing and employability said he understood the councillor's disappointment as this had been a “long standing issue.”
Mr Barry said: “One of the problems, which prevents us from producing a master plan is not understanding what the problem is.
“We need to understand the landscape a bit better and if that is contributing to the dampness issues. We will take away your request and see if we can come back to the next committee with some sort of master plan scoped out.”
Over the next two months, West Dunbartonshire Council will create a comprehensive picture of the conditions of all the homes so they can decide best on how best to proceed with a masterplan for the area.
Following a consultation with the tenants, an updated report will be brought back to committee this summer.
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