WORTH Valley ward councillor Glenn Miller has thrown his weight behind the campaign to get urgent repair work carried out at a council-run sheltered housing complex in Haworth.

Cllr Miller (Cons) was invited to the Heathcliff homes by the chairman of the resident's association, Jack Webb, to inspect the homes for himself.

Cllr Miller says he was disgusted by what he saw at Heathcliff, and feels these elderly residents are being neglected.

He says: "Something needs to be done. I have been and I will still be lobbying and putting as much pressure as possible on the council to start spending some money on this complex."

Mr Webb showed Cllr Miller around the complex, pointing out where new windows were needed to stop draughts and condensation from which all the homes suffer.

Cllr Miller says he was particularly shocked when he saw the home of one resident, Annie Hawker.

Cllr Miller says: "There were three buckets on the window ledge catching water that was leaking in through the old windows. The sorry thing, though, is that this is meant to have been repaired before."

Cllr Miller says he intends to contact the environment health department to check on the dangers posed by the large amount of mould and mildew.

Cllr Miller says he was also shocked to see the slippery walkways through the complex. He was told the council cleaned these using only a watering can and a brush.

He says: "Surely in this day and age it is possible to get a pressure washer. This would at least clean these areas of pathways and leave them clean for a year."

Cllr Miller was introduced to a woman who had slipped twice on the paths and ended up in the hospital casualty department with an injured head and back.

Mr Webb told Cllr Miller that there had been no major painting work done in over 20 years.

He added that the work to install a security intercom at the door has backfired as the new doors and flooring are not level, increasing the risk of tripping.

Paul Barker, prospective Conservative candidate for the Worth Valley, also visited Heathcliff. He believes that only a very small amount of money would need to be spent to dramatically increase the safety of the residents.

He says: "A lick of paint would hardly cost the earth either, and while new windows would be more expensive, the leaks and draughts that come in past the current aged, metal frames are not acceptable for anyone, least of all pensioners in our community."

A spokesman for the Keighley central neighbourhood housing office says that the concerns of the residents are listened to so that a day-to-day repair programme can be established. The spokesman says: "We're aware of the problems at Heathcliff, and we hope that there'll be some money available in the next financial year to provide new windows."

The spokesman adds that the moss on the paving stones is cleaned away regularly and will be done so again in the near future. The council's long term plan is to replace the stones with non-slip ones when money is available.

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