How many phone calls to the council does it take to change a lightbulb?
Council tenants have said that they are being left in the dark when it comes to reporting repairs in council housing, with broken lights and windows taking months to fix.
Green Councillors in Mancroft are concerned over the amount of time it is taking for repairs to be completed in council estates, with some issues, such as streetlights not working for over 9 months, leading to residents feeling unsafe in the area, and concerns over anti-social behaviour.
Multiple residents and Green Councillors in the ward have been consistently contacting the council to arrange repairs to streetlights in the area around Haslips Close & Greyhound Opening since before May 2023, yet the council has so far failed to carry out the repairs.
While the Haslips Close area is part of the City Council’s flagship new social housing development, which the council is keen to note has won major national awards, the council is failing on the basics. Residents have said that repairs aren’t being carried out on-time, including broken windows and flooding issues taking over a year to repair.
Sally Reynolds, a resident of Greyhound Opening since 2019, said: “The worst thing is that the council doesn’t even acknowledge that I have been reporting the broken lights for months. It feels like local people are being left in the dark by the council, and unsafe in our neighbourhoods. It shouldn’t take months to repair some lights. The council should get on with it.”
Another resident, Marc Wernicke, said: “Seeing these light posts out of order for at least a year and a half now has been very frustrating. It adds to the perception of this newly built residential area already being in a state of decay and neglect. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the lack of lighting also makes the path feel unsafe particularly during the dark season.”
Councillor Amanda Fox said: “One call to the council should be enough for repairs to be carried out in a timely fashion, and residents should be informed of any reasons for delays to the completion of these repairs. Tenants tell me that they are going in circles when reporting issues and are being promised repairs that never come to fruition. This case is just one example of the wider problems residents are facing when it comes to resolving issues in their homes and neighbourhoods. How many calls should it take to change a lightbulb?”