Inquiry demand over Delph homes revamp

A PARISH councillor is demanding an investigation after the redevelopment of pensioners’ homes in Delph were “plagued by delays and mistakes”.

Councillor Ken Hulme wants Oldham Council to look at the way the project at Holland Close was managed to make sure no one else suffers in future.

And he said that the residents — some of whom are in their 90s — and their relatives should be given the opportunity to raise their concerns.

Work on the homes by Housing 21 and Bullock Construction is part of a £400 million-plus Private Finance Initiative to significantly improve 1,457 sheltered housing properties in the borough.

However, residents of Holland Close spent Christmas 2007 in temporary accommodation after improvements due to be completed in the previous autumn were delayed. They eventually returned to their homes in March last year.

Other problems included concerns over badly-designed kitchens and security lighting, while an 83-year-old double amputee could not get into her flat because the doors were too small for her wheelchair.

Councillor Hulme said he had asked Oldham Council to scrutinise the work in July but had not received a response, although questions to the council and cabinet should receive a written reply within five days.

He added: “I’m not just seeking to draw attention to yet another example of the appallingly slovenly approach of Oldham to responding to the public and public questions.

“For many of us in Delph who have followed the Holland Close saga from the start, the treatment of the residents and the astonishing delays in completing the project are the most glaring example of Oldham council’s failings — the Oldham disease — when it comes to dealing with the public.”