A Nottinghamshire grandmother has said she has been ashamed of the 'disgusting' damp in her council house. Karen Draycott, 57, who lives on Main Road, Jacksdale has said the long-running damp problem in her home has ruined her kitchen and made her reluctant to see family and friends.
She has criticised Ashfield District Council, who manage the property, for what she claims has been a underwhelming response to her concerns, which she is not confident will solve the problem long-term. The damp, according to Ms Draycott, had made a 'state' of her kitchen with it accumulating behind her cupboards and causing an unpleasant smell.
"The main thing is the state of the kitchen - I have kept trying to call them out and they just said 'oh it will be alright'. And now it's got in so much of a state they've had to take it out," Ms Draycott said.
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"It's disgusting, talk about food hygiene and health and safety, it's just disgusting. I've got a daughter and granddaughter who are asthmatic, and it's affected my health as well.
"It is a big problem, the smell hits you as soon as you come into the kitchen. I have to keep opening my windows and doors because it's that bad in the kitchen.
"It's got to the point now where I'm ashamed of people coming to my house. Because as soon as they're in the kitchen it hits you - it's a strong smell.
"After they did some work the damp is still coming through. Where they have put the damp-proofing paint stuff they are still patches, in a few weeks or months it will be bad again."
Ms Draycott claimed the council had initially proposed to take out two of the affected cupboards, instead of all four like she had hoped. "They've took two cupboards out when they should have took the whole lot out, and it's just full of damp that has been there for a long while. They did that the other day - all they are doing are replacing two of them which is not what they said, they said they'd do all four.
"They all have that damp problem and only two of them have been treated, the other two have just been left. I was left without water as well but then they came back and put it back on."
Ashfield District Council confirmed they received the report from Ms Draycott on July 21, 2022, with work commencing this week. In addition a surveyor reattended on September 7, to check the progress of the works. The council said Ms Draycott had requested a complete kitchen renewal, but that the existing kitchen is in a repairable condition.
Ashfield District Council confirmed that in addition to the originally planned repairs two other kitchen units and the worktop around the sink area will be replaced. An Ashfield District Council spokesperson said: “The Council aims to support all our residents with any issues they may have with their properties and we are working closely with the tenant to rectify the issues being reported.”
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