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Is this Aylesbury’s most dangerous home?
Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue at Winchester House on Bishops Walk in Aylesbury
PICTURE the scene – a bedroom in which it is raining, and yet outside it is dry.
This is the situation in which many residents at what is suspected to be Aylesbury’s most hazardous home have had to live with for four years.
And it has now become so dangerous that the fire service, once told about the situation, turned up at the property within 10 minutes of the call to immediately isolate the electricity to one of the flats.
As the roof at Winchester House, in Bishops Walk, has said not to have been fixed for 20 years, many leaseholders at the property have been subjected to years of permanent rainfall in their homes.
In addition to this, the building also has subsidence meaning that it would not necessarily have the strength to withstand a fire, if one was to break out as a result of water coming into contact with electricity.
Russel Talmer, 51, has owned the lease to his flat since 1987, and says he feels trapped in his own home after being subjected to leaks for the past four years.
“There is no way I would ever buy a leasehold again,” he said.
“It’s like a prison, I’m stuck here and there is nothing I can do.
“I own the lease on my property, but it is the owner of the building whose responsibility it is to repair the roof.
“The situation’s pretty dire – I want to be in a position where I can sell up in a couple of years, but that’s not going to happen with the way it is now.”
Russel’s flatmate Andy Spurr has been forced to tape a guttering pipe beneath the gaping hole in his bedroom ceiling, the material from which he says narrowly missed him when it fell to the floor in the middle of the night.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “Bit by bit my ceiling just keeps coming down. It’s like living in a Third World country – I cannot believe it’s happening in 21st century Britain.”
Aylesbury Vale District Council has now served the freeholder, Kingley Properties Ltd, with a notice to have the entire roof stripped off and recovered. A council spokesman said: “A contractor appointed by the freeholder is currently undertaking these works and we will re-inspect the property to ensure compliance with the notice.”
There are also a large number of vulnerable adults living at the property, one of many reasons why Aylesbury Town councillor Denise Summers has blasted the owner.
“I loathe the fact that in this day and age people are still able to exploit people – especially the vulnerable or disadvantaged in this way,” she said.
“Something has to be done, and I intend on finding out whoever is responsible, so that they can be held to account.”
Managing agent of the property, Watersmeet, claims it is the responsibility of the freeholder, or owner, of the building to order any external maintenance to be completed.
“We are trying to do our job and encourage the owner to put the building back into repair,” said Stewart Lindsay of Watersmeet.
“We feel a responsibility to the people that live there, but we cannot instruct any work to be done on the building without the owner’s permission or without the funds.”
After having seen the situation at Winchester House, a fire service spokesman said: “During the call it became apparent there was an immediate danger of a fire breaking out as a result of water entering the electrics.
“A crew was sent immediately to isolate the electricity in the worst-affected maisonette, and to fit smoke alarms and provide fire safety advice.”
The Bucks Herald was unable to make contact with the freeholder, Kingley Properties Ltd.
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Weather for Aylesbury
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: East
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Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
Comments
There are 3 comments to this article
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RGM
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 06:59 PMAs far as I know, I'm sure the BH would have been there to see the dozers move in if it had been demolished.
EJ
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 05:27 PMIt is crazy people are having to live like this. Looks like the photographer was suffering from slight subsidence too..RGM, is that extension still there??
RGM
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 01:16 PMThey (AVDC) can't get an illegal building demolished by a convicted criminal, what makes them think that they can get a property company to tow the line? I feel sorry for the residents if they are relying on AVDC to sort this then they could be waiting a very long time.
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