By Lisa Ramsden
LOCAL woman has considered resorting to sleeping in a tent outside her Housing Executive home rather than endure the “unbearable” conditions.
The Newcastle resident, who asked for her name not to be printed, said her flat needs urgent improvements.
Having moved into the Bernagh Green property last autumn, she said she had been assured repairs would be carried out to the property.
However, now disheartened, she said her health, both mentally and physically, has deteriorated as a result of the situation.
“This is breaking me.
“I feel like a second-class citizen,” she told her local paper.
“They have given me promise after promise, but nothing ever gets done. I’ve just been fobbed off time and time again.”
While emphasising that she appreciates the endeavours of locally based NI Housing Executive (NIHE) staff, with no resolutions, she said she feels she has been passed from pillar to post.
She has called on the Housing Executive to “urgently” address the problems before she is left with no option but to make herself homeless.
She said she is even contemplating setting up a tent on the land outside the property as “it’d be drier and probably no colder than my bedroom will be this winter unless something is urgently done”.
She explained that rising damp was confirmed in her one-bedroom flat, and that workmen were sent out to tackle this in April.
However, the room remains unfinished. As a result of this work, the room’s only radiator was removed, she added. She fears how cold the room will be this winter.
In addition, wooden casing in the living room, kitchen and bathroom, which boxes in wiring and pipework, is coming off the walls.
The local woman added that clothing and items of furniture have been ruined by the damp and mould. Having spoken with some neighbours, she thinks other properties in the area may also be experiencing similar issues.
“In this day and age, it really is no way to live,” she said, adding that the Bernagh Green accommodation is her first experience as a NIHE tenant.
“To feel that I am left with no option but to sleep in a tent says it all. I’d resort to that, even though that comes with its own risks.”
