A RESIDENT of Redvers House in Crediton has told the Courier that she has had to move up to Hertfordshire to stay with family because she believes the dampness in her home is the cause of her respiratory problems.

Isabel Fanson said: “I moved into Redvers House in 2015 (in the homeownership block) and was told by my solicitor that all the maintenance work would be done by the following summer.

“I was informed that there was plenty of money in the maintenance fund.

“At this point I didn’t notice the damp, the maintenance due was the redecoration of the whole building.

“After two years they still hadn’t done any works on the property, so a group of us, who were on the residents’ committee, wrote to every director on the Sanctuary Housing board.

“The directors passed it back to a Homeownership Officer for Sanctuary, but nothing was done.

“By 2017 I had noticed that my outside bedroom wall was damp, and the communal corridors on the lower ground floor were damp.

“The officer was aware of this and organised for a company to come in to drill the walls and take patches of plaster work off the wall.”

It was at this time that Isabel noticed she was getting more and more chest infections.

She added: “When we asked why the work hadn’t been done we were told that it was because of the Grenfell Tower disaster, policy’s had changed (although Redvers House isn’t in the same category as Grenfell Towers). The next excuse was Covid 19.”

Isabel says that she emailed the director of Sanctuary Housing more than two years ago, but got no reply.

She then emailed Mel Stride, MP for Central Devon who also emailed Sanctuary Housing and received a reply on March 21, 2023 stating that they were aware of some damp issues and would be having a meeting to discuss the problem.

In the email Sanctuary said they would update residents following the meeting.

Isobel added: “To-date no work has been done to alleviate the damp issues at the property and I am currently staying at my nieces house, as I have had recurring chest infections due to the black mould in my bedroom.

“In early May, due to heavy rainfall, the lower level of Redvers House flooded, this is not the first time this has happened. “Nothing was done about this apart from yellow ‘wet floor’ signs going up.

“There were no dehumidifiers placed in the building to help dry it out and the lower floor had an overpowering smell of damp. “A member of staff from Sanctuary came to visit and bought a surveyor with him.

“The surveyor stated that he didn’t need a damp metre as he could smell the damp!”

Isobel, who is in her 80’s, says she is still waiting to hear when the problem will be rectified.

Having to temporarily move to Hertfordshire has been very upsetting for her as she has had to leave her home and all her friends behind, but she says she was unable to stay in the damp property because of her ill health.

A spokesperson for Sanctuary said: “Work will be continuing to establish the cause of the damp in the communal area on the lower ground floor of the building and we will ensure any repairs required are completed as soon as possible. 

“Senior staff recently met with Mrs Fanson to discuss her individual concerns and we are also committed to providing further updates to all the residents as work progresses.

“We are sorry that it has taken longer than expected to undertake this work.”

Nora Parminter