Council-owned flats need £1.3m spent on repairs

More than £1m is to be spent on six blocks of council-owned flats to repair defects.

The 1970s-built flats in Bermuda Terrace Estate, off Histon Road, are owned by Labour-controlled Cambridge City Council.

A survey found structural and fabric defects in need of fixing, with costs going up from an estimated £800,000 to about £1.3m, council officers said.

A housing scrutiny committee meeting was told work is set to start in April and will take about six months to complete.

Labour councillor Richard Swift expressed surprise the projected costs had "gone up by about 40%".

Officials said the recommendation for accepting the £1.3m bid was based on an assessment of the quality of the bids, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Labour councillor Jenny Gawthrope Wood said she was concerned payments "could be difficult for leaseholders" and asked if they would be offered payment options for their share of the work.

Officers said the leaseholders had been aware of the project for a number of years and would not be expected to pay until the work was finished.

They added that the council would consider individual circumstances and would be willing to make payment agreements if needed.

Tenant representative Diane Best pointed out work had previously been done to the balconies and asked if leaseholders would be charged for the same work.

Officers said the resurfacing work had been done about 10 years ago, but since then, movement in the building had caused some balconies to leak.

They anticipated further payments from leaseholders because the issues were caused by building movement.

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