A Westbridgend tenant says sheltered housing residents are being left in the cold this winter.
Theresa Connolly has hit out at West Dunbartonshire Council after delays hit long-awaited works to refurbish the Leven Court common room, rendering it unusable.
And pensioner Theresa, who suffers from anxiety and depression as well as having mobility issues, said she feels that sheltered housing tenants are viewed as an inconvenience by WDC.
Ms Connolly told the Lennox: “We are suffering from the cost of living crisis and the huge increase in electricity prices and we do not have a communal meeting room where tenants could meet up in a warm environment.
“When I applied for sheltered housing and read the tenant’s manual I thought it was perfect because there were activities in the common room. But when I moved in there was nothing of the sort.
“The place was an absolute mire.
“I joined the Sheltered Tenants’ Forum, went to a meeting and told them exactly what I thought.
“That was four years ago now. Four years I’ve spent fighting to try and get it upgraded to something halfway decent.
“It’s an absolutely diabolical disgrace.
“The budget was set aside for it. But then Covid hit. I couldn’t understand why the work wasn’t done during the pandemic. If anything that was the perfect time to get it done; no access was allowed apart from to the warden.
“Now the pandemic is over they are saying they have a real backlog of work to catch up on.
“Westbridgend sheltered tenants have been let down.”
Theresa says she has written to West Dunbartonshire Council’s chief officer for housing, Peter Barry, and raised the issue at meetings with housing chiefs.
She continued: “It feels like the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing at the council.
“It feels like they just don’t care about us.
“Our warden had cracking plans for it. She wanted to do a breakfast club, bingo. It would’ve been ideal at this time of year.
“The first sheltered housing meeting I went to was in Clydebank and their common area was absolutely stunning. Which really set me off.
“When you see other complexes and what they’ve got it makes you realise that we have nothing.”
Dumbarton councillor David McBride has been working with Theresa to speed up the refurbishment.
The Labour member said: “I thank Theresa who should be commended for her tenacity continuing to raise the inadequate common room for Westbridgend sheltered accommodation residents.
“There is a great need for these communal areas where residents can meet for some company and support from others within the building. The cost of living crisis has intensified and a safe, warm place on your door step is a lifeline for some of our more vulnerable residents.
“The refurbishment of the common room has simply taken too long, the delays and backlogs have been very frustrating.
“I have been told a formal specification for the work involved should be ready early January 2023 so hopefully we can report back some good news to Theresa very soon and get this much needed safe place open.”
And Theresa believes that a reopened common room would make a huge difference to the lives of tenants.
She added: “The majority of sheltered tenants here are on our own. It was bad enough during lockdown. We had well over two years where the majority of us saw nobody but the carers who came in.
“A renovated common room would be a life changer.”
A council spokeswoman said: “We are sorry for any inconvenience caused to residents and are working to reopen the common room area as soon as possible.
“Supporting residents to socialise throughout the year is a key priority, and residents will be encouraged to make full use of the space once the renovation work is complete.”
