Tenants of a Nottingham tower 'unchanged for 60 years' have criticised delays to its £2.5m improvement plan. Colwick Woods Court in Sneinton has been criticised in the past by residents, who said the ageing tower was dated and needed significant repairs to improve conditions that one tenant compared to prison.
The 17-storey block contains 90 flats and was built in the 1960s. Nottingham City Homes was given planning permission for a £2.5 million upgrade in 2022, with a spokesperson acknowledging residents' concerns and adding it wanted to "provide all our tenants with a good quality home and neighbourhood to live in", but these works still have no start date.
In contrast to the stalled multi-million pound improvement works, Nottingham City Council said it had internally renovated flats over the last two decades. But John Millers, 70, who has lived in the tower for 48 years, explained that in his view not much had changed since it was built.
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"It needs quite a lot doing - the money needs to be spent here. We were told about these plans in 2008 but they haven't happened and inside there are still wires that need to be covered up inside from when they did do some work."
Mr Millers, who lives on the sixth floor, said: "It has not changed much since the 60's or at least doesn't look like it has. It would make lots of difference to the people living here."
Kefali Abraha, 38, an Uber driver who has lived in the tower for two years, said residents would see a marked improvement in their lives should the promised upgrades be carried out. "It is not a very nice place to live. The building is very old and you can tell.
"The lifts do not work a lot of the time, there are a lot of faults inside. It is also very cold in the winter and the boilers sometimes do not work.
"It really needs the work doing." Nottingham City Council said all flats have had new front doors, plus new kitchens and bathrooms since 2005.
But a woman, whose partner lives in the block and wanted to remain anonymous, said some parts of the building were "in a state of disrepair". "You get leaks from above floors that cause mould and stains in flats below. The repairs and maintenance is awful.
"It needs improving because it can be really bad to live inside, but we don't know when it will happen."
Nottingham City Council manages 13 high rise council blocks across the city, including Colwick Woods Court and said surveys had now been completed to clarify the detail of the future works required. "Over the last six years, and to ensure resident safety, we have installed sprinklers in all flats and in corridors and communal areas that didn’t already have them. We have also installed new door entry systems and tannoys throughout the block for security and access," a city council spokesperson said.
“Since 2005, all flats have had new front doors, plus new kitchens and bathrooms under our Decent Homes improvement scheme. In the last 30 years, the block has had new windows; these are due to be replaced again as part of the future programme of improvements.
"This programme also includes the full internal refurbishment of all communal areas including décor, lighting and flooring, upgrading windows, improving the energy efficiency of the building, and installing a new look exterior.”
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