Rooftop-owned flats plagued by rats, leaking pipes and overflowing bins

Residents of Shawcross Walk are ‘embarrassed’ by the state of their property, managed by Rooftop Housing Group.

Debz Neale says the issues, which also include faulty lights, knee-height weeds and a lack of dog poo bins, have been going on for over a year.

“I’ve complained to them (Rooftop) about the mess by the entrance, it falls on deaf ears.

“It’s sheer filth. We have thousands of flies, rats and vermin not to mention the stench and eyesore.”

"It's sheer filth" says resident Debz Neale

Ms Neale contacted Rooftop last July to try and resolve the issues.

In an email to the housing association, she wrote: “Yesterday I had visitors or was meant to. My guests didn't want to come inside the complex because of the smell.

“I was horrified and extremely embarrassed.”

READ MORE: Resident of water-damaged flats "embarrassed" to live there

Fellow resident, David Sadler, contacted the Evesham Journal in February to raise his concerns about the damage to the building’s exterior caused by leaking water pipes.

“It’s a disgrace. You don’t need to get up close, you can see it from the other side of the road,” he said.

“I am embarrassed to come back to my property. I don’t even invite guests round because of that reason."

And neighbour, Laura Jones, had her own issues in January, having been left without hot water for months.

READ MORE: Woman's three-month wait for hot water

Fellow Shawcross Walk resident Laura Jones had her own problems in January, when she was left three months without hot water

Rooftop executive director of operations, Lisa Nicholls, has moved to assure residents that they will be looking into the issues raised.

She said: “It's important to us that our residents can feel proud of where they live, the management of waste and recycling, grounds maintenance and repairs is essential to this.  

“We take our responsibility seriously and where we find issues, or issues are reported to us, we work together with residents to resolve this.

“We are making sure that there are enough waste and recycling bins and that these are being used correctly.  

“Where items are not disposed of correctly, we arrange for tidying of these areas and currently considering enforcement action and charging residents for this where appropriate.”

She added: “We were not aware of a faulty light however have reported this to our repairs partner, Platform Property Care who have been to fix them today.  

“We are aware of the water staining, and to sort this, a repair is needed, however getting access to a resident’s flat has been an issue.  

“We're continuing to attempt to engage our customer to arrange access. Once the repair has been made we will clean the remaining staining off the building.

“Grounds maintenance is being reviewed this year that will give us a great opportunity to work with residents on future standards, meanwhile we will ensure that maintenance improves for this block.”