Roof repair plea from Mile Cross man to Norwich City Council

William Watts has lived in his council-run home in Appleyard Crescent for 13 years.

Last October, the Mile Cross local told this paper that his damaged roof had been leaking for several weeks after a large bit of rotting wood fell and hit him on the head.

Now, nine months later, Mr Watts has said that Norwich City Council has still not repaired the damage, which is causing damp and mould in the rest of the property.

"Norwich City Council did come out and put scaffolding up for the repairs, but left it there for months and the problems in our house are just getting worse," said Mr Watts.

Water has been pouring in through the roof since last summer (Image: William Watts)

"They have tried to fix it but never completed the work.

"My daughter is becoming really unwell, which is making me feel very angry and frustrated.

"We are stuck here and no one is helping us.

"If this was a matter for a private landlord they would have been prosecuted by now."

William Watts has been living in his home in Appleyard Crescent for 13 years (Image: William Watts)

After his 16-year-old daughter's asthma had been getting worse over the course of a few months, a trip to the family's local health centre confirmed Mr Watts' fears: the issues at home were causing her to become increasingly unwell.

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In a letter sent to the city council, the family's GP requested that someone "urgently attend" to the ongoing problems at the house as a recent review of the teenager's asthma revealed that it was now deemed a "high risk for exacerbations and hospitalisation".

Appleyard Crescent is in Mile Cross (Image: Google)

"It is my professional opinion that the hole in the roof, humidity, damp, mould and rising damp that they report in there are significant causes of her current symptoms," concludes the doctor.

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Despite the letter being sent to the council at the start of May, no more repairs have been done at the house.

However, a city council spokesman has confirmed that further repairs will be undertaken at the property.

"Norwich City Council takes reports of damp and mould very seriously and apologises for any delay in resolving the issue at Appleyard Crescent," he said.

"Having carried out roofing repairs front and back recently we are following this up with a damp survey which has been booked in with the tenant.

"Any issues identified from the survey will be assessed and further remedial works will be scheduled if needed. We will keep the tenant updated throughout this process."