Council delay leaves Redditch woman trapped in flat

A REDDITCH woman said her elderly mum had been trapped in her flat block since the new year after the borough council left residents without a working lift for four months.

June Green lives at Arthur Jobson House in the town and her daughter, Angela Davies, said she had not been outside since January, when the lift was condemned.

June has mobility issues and the family are unable to safely manage with the stairs in the block. She has missed doctors appointments and they even had to cancel their Mother’s Day meal.

Angela said she had been complaining to the council for months and was told a separate company would be fixing the lift. When she asked how long that would take, she was told it would be around June or July.

She said: “It simply isn’t good enough – my mum hasn’t been outside in months, especially now the weather is getting better – she should be able to leave her flat.

“She is a prisoner in her own home. She has dementia and depression and this is only making it worse.”

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Angela said she was also concerned about safety.

“What if there is a fire or an emergency? There is no way for my mum to leave the block.”

Angela was told as a temporary measure a stairlift would be installed but that would not be until May. However, the Standard contacted the council on Tuesday and it was installed on the same day.

Although the stairlift is now in place, June is not able to use it, as it only covers the stairs and not the landing in between.

“It isn’t fit for purpose, you have to walk between the two seats, which my mum cannot do.

“Being able to leave your home is a fundamental right – we need the lift fixed now so my mum can actually go outside.”

Redditch Borough Council said it had contractors working on behalf of housing property services and it had made several repairs to the lift over the last six months.

They added: “There has been intermittent operation of the lift during this time however it has become clear the lift has reached its end of life.

“Therefore, we have a new lift on order which is currently being manufactured which will take several months with installation.

“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this has caused to our residents.”