Politicians have stepped in after residents living in a Newmains street voiced concerns over structural damage to their homes.
Those living in Bonds Drive have been invited to attend a meeting hosted by the area’s MSP to establish the extent of the problems.
The homes are managed by Trust Housing Association (THA) who took over their running of the homes after it absorbed Wishaw and District Housing Association (WDHA) into its organisation.
Motherwell and Wishaw MSP Clare Adamson told Lanarkshire Live : “We have been talking with residents after being informed of reported problems by Trust housing.
“I wrote to the people affected at the start of this week and I will be regularly engaged with Trust housing over what appear to be serious concerns.
“I am inviting residents to a meeting on February 14 and to take part in a survey to establish the extent of the problems.
“Any Trust housing resident who has concerns should contact my office.”
Other local representatives have also spoken out on the issues residents are facing.
Airdrie and Shotts MP Anum Qaisar said the damage is caused by "faults in the initial construction of the homes".
She told us : "Any fix will require substantial changes to the foundations of the property. It is expected that this will cause major disruption to residents.
“I have written to the identified residents who are impacted and I am working closely with my colleague Clare Adamson MSP.
“I hope that the appropriate work to fix the structural issues is done swiftly and in a way that minimises disruption to residents.”
Writing on social media, Councillor Cameron McManus posted: “Housing associations have a duty of care for their residents and must do all they can to protect them.
“Thanks to the residents who took their time out to speak with me.”
Jackie McIntosh from Trust said: “We instructed a survey by independent engineers.
"This led to the commissioning of a series of intrusive engineering investigations to determine the cause of the issue and what the appropriate remedy would be.
“The results of these investigations has confirmed that a small number of properties in Bonds Drive were built using traditional foundations, which may not have been appropriate for the ground conditions on that particular part of the site, when these homes were constructed by WDHA (now part of THA) in 2009/10.
“This has led to cracking in these homes some ten or so years after construction.
“It is also possible that a similar defect may also affect other homes in Bonds Drive, therefore as a precaution, we are in the process of arranging similar investigatory work to these addresses before we can confirm this.
“Our engineers have advised that it is unlikely that the other remaining properties in Bonds Drive and those in South Calder Way are affected since they were all either built using a different type of foundation or are built on different ground conditions to the affected properties.
“Customer safety is our number one priority. Whilst this is a serious defect at the affected properties, our independent expert engineers have advised that the properties are safe to occupy at present.
“However, the defective foundations must be addressed as soon as is practically possible by carrying out remedial work.
“Unfortunately, these works by their very nature will involve significant disruption to the ground floor of the affected homes.
“This level of disruption will mean that it will not be possible for our customers and their families to remain in-situ as the remedial work is undertaken.”
Gregor Colville, head of customer experience at Trust, added: “We appreciate this will be a worrying time for those affected and we will be doing everything we can to support our customers through these difficult and unforeseen circumstances.
“We are absolutely committed to keeping all affected households fully up to date as matters progress.”
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