Staveley dad ‘deeply angered’ by lack of action to rectify mould-ridden council home

The dad-of-three, who wished to remain anonymous, and his partner began suffering problems with mould at their council property on Bond Street in Staveley during lockdown.

But despite several requests to Chesterfield Borough Council, he claims to have been ignored by the authority who are yet to offer a permanent solution.

He now fears for the health of his young children aged six, four, and five-months-old – two of whom have asthma – and says the family are being left to live in a “dangerous environment”.

The frustrated dad said: “We’ve smelt mould in the kitchen for quite some time and reported it to Chesterfield Borough Council but because of lockdown we didn’t see anybody.

"Eventually someone else came out to exact a different repair and they’d also been instructed to take a look at the kitchen while they were there.

"Apparently they removed the kickboard and said there was no issue so we left it at that.”

According to the resident, the problems grew when the family began to notice mould in the main upstairs bedroom which is shared by both adults and the youngest child.

He added: "We were advised to wipe down the walls, add a anti fungal treatment to the affected area and paint over with PVA solution. We were also advised we would receive decorating vouchers to cover the cost of redecoration after completing the other steps.

"When we started preparing to do that, we then noticed the mould at the top corner of the room is three-times as bad down the bottom. We thought wow, that’s beyond a decorating voucher.”

The mould, the dad says, is so bad that the family are having to clean the kitchen and utility room on a fortnightly basis – and have had to dispose of numerous items due to damage caused by the damp.

To add further insult to injury, the family recently received their decorating voucher only to discover it had not been loaded with any money.

“I need a rectification to our issues immediately, otherwise I will have no choice but to seek legal action, as we feel our home is now a dangerous environment for our children and ourselves to be living in,” the father-of-three said.

“I do not think it is safe for this to continue any longer and am deeply angered by the lack of contact or concern from the council.”

A spokesperson for Chesterfield Borough Council said: “As a responsible landlord we prioritise the health and wellbeing of our tenants and take all reports of damp and mould seriously, with our dedicated team working with tenants to try and resolve issues as quickly as we can.

“A technical officer visited the property to investigate the report and a work order was raised for an extractor fan to be fitted in the bathroom to help prevent moisture build-up. We are currently awaiting an electrical inspection so that this can be installed and will keep the tenant updated.

“We apologise that the decorating voucher was not loaded and we will contact the tenant to rectify this.”

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