Yahoo News Essex council drafting in extra staff to deal with 570 homes with damp
An Essex council has been forced to draft in additional temporary staff to help tackle the “significant rise” in the number of damp homes owned by the authority. Colchester City Council’s homes company, Colchester Borough Homes (CBH), has recorded and inspected 570 damp homes in the past 12 months, it has been revealed.
The new data comes from agenda papers ahead of the latest meeting of the city council’s governance and audit committee, which is due to be held on Thursday (June 18). It comes after a meeting in March where CBH's chief executive, Philip Sullivan, highlighted the struggles the company was having with its homes and how the number of damp and mould inspections raised with the association saw a 96 per cent increase between August 2022 and August 2023 from 234 to 458 within that period.
This week’s agenda papers reveal how temporary staff are being used at present to increase capacity, while bosses at CBH say more permanent staff are being taken on to tackle the issue. A spokesperson for CBH said: “We want to assure our tenants that we take the issue of damp and mould very seriously.
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“Due to recent events and heightened media coverage, we have seen a significant rise in tenants reporting damp and mould concerns. The 570 cases recorded and inspected in the past 12 months pertain to 570 individual homes.
“This reflects an increased awareness of potential health risks rather than a sudden surge in new cases, highlighting the need for continued vigilance and action. We’re committed to addressing these concerns and are actively working on several fronts:
“Our damp and mould team is expanding by two permanent positions to handle inspections and repairs more efficiently. Additionally, we are using temporary staff until we can fill these permanent posts. While it is more expensive to use temporary staff, it is essential that we continue to resource this area of work to help ensure we manage damp and mould cases effectively.”
Bosses of the council’s homes company also say they have secured new contractors to manage the increased workload and ensure timely completion of surveys and repairs. The company is also fitting properties with technology and improving internal processes to gather better data on property performance.
