MEETING OF CLONDALKIN AREA COMMITTEE
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
QUESTION NO.7
QUESTION: Councillor F. Timmons
“To ask the Chief Executive for an update report on progress made in Balgaddy following agreed motion at April Area meeting?
(CMAS 43843 Clondalkin ACM/May – “That this Committee demands that SDCC liaise in meaningful consultation with Balgaddy Working Together Group to identify the worst housing conditions and have them assessed by Independent Health Officers and Fire Officers and Structural Engineers and that identified work is carried out in a timely and long term manner. This Committee also asks that we are kept updated on progress on a monthly basis as part of the agenda for Clondalkin area meeting”.”)
REPLY:
Background
Three surveys and reports were carried out on the Balgaddy Estate by independent consultants in addition to a detailed house-by-house survey and remediation works programme carried out by a Council team established specifically for this purpose.
The independent reports were carried out by Thorntons Chartered Surveyors and Elliot Maguire Landers Architects (both on behalf of CARA Housing Association). A further study was carried out by Buckeridge Forrestal Partnership commissioned by Clondalkin Partnership (CPLN as was).
No mention of structural issues arises in any of these three reports or the Council’s own surveys and there has never been any fault or remediation required in relation to a buildings structure in Balgaddy to date.
It can clearly be stated that there is no systemic structural problem in Balgaddy and this does not require a survey.
Fire safety issues arising in 2010 related to compartmentation in the roofs of a small number of dwellings in Méile on Rí which were addressed and certified by Fire Seal Ltd. A number of doors to shared stairways required widening and this was also remediated and completed by 2011. The fire safety remediation works were agreed with and approved by the relevant Fire Officer of Dublin Fire Brigade. Since the opening of Balgaddy there have been a small number of fires and in no single case has there been smoke or fire penetration beyond the dwelling involved confirming the integrity of the separation.
Current Position
13 houses have recently been identified as having difficulties with water moisture and condensation. This can result from a number of factors – leaks, rising damp, poor ventilation and plan configurations which are more likely to be affected by condensation due to orientation, amount of external wall and the presence of unheated shared stairways adjoining apartments. There is also the question of tenant activity which can be one of a number of factors involved.
A team of two specialist clerks-of-works has now been instructed to survey in detail the 13 units identified and agreed with the Committee. They will carry out surveys on moisture levels in walls and floors to identify possible rising damp and leaks (including at ceiling level from external balconies above). They will take readings of Relative Humidity and Temperature and will measure ventilation levels in each dwelling. This survey will be paralleled by a survey in each house to be carried out by the Environmental Health Officer who is independent of the Council and works for the H.S.E. Two reports on each dwelling will be produced. Any building technology problems which when surveyed and analysed will be remediated and resolved.
An overall survey of this large estate with substantial cost and high levels of disruption to families is not warranted in light of maintenance request levels which are slightly below those of other Council areas.
The Council as owner is the landlord of these dwellings and has a direct responsibility to each tenant to maintain these homes to a proper standard. The Council includes the Elected Members who are mandated to represent the tenants. Two Council Community/Estate officers liaise with Balgaddy Together Group in an ongoing way as is normal in all other Council estates. If Balgaddy Working Together Group has information on building defects they should encourage tenants to report same through the Council Customer Care system where they can be registered, prioritised and tracked.
