Blog Post: “A word in your ear” by Mr Peter Perrin
Belhus Ward Councillors dismiss Black Toxic Mould as a low category hazard.
Despite a written reply from the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Mr Andrew Stunell, in answer to a written Parliamentary Question asked by Thurrock MP Jackie Doyle-Price in which he states, “Damp and mould growth is a category 1 hazard. Councils are under a duty to take action in such cases”, the Belhus ward councillors, Charles and Wendy Curtis have downgraded it to a category 4 hazard.
They state “We feel we have to point out that this {Toxic Black Mould} is not a Category 1 hazard, but a Category 4.
“There is a major difference and, put simply, Category 1 is a risk to life, Category 4 is not”.
If I understand them correctly they are saying the Secretary of State is wrong and they are right and Mrs Lodge is “scaremongering” and causing alarm to tenants/ residents, especially those whose homes are infested with mould. I cannot comment on Cllr Sue Gray’s position as, as usual, she appears not to have an opinion one way or the other.
I suggest all three Belhus Councillors spend an hour or so with Mrs Lodge who will, no doubt, dispel any complacency on their part as to the facts about “Toxic Black Mould” and the serious threat it is to the lives of those currently exposed to it in their Council homes.
Put simply Councillors, rather than seeking to downgrade the seriousness of this issue, you would serve the people of Belhus better if you insisted that urgent action is taken to ascertain the cause of this mould and to eradicate it from Council rented homes.
This just goes to show how out of touch the local councillors are with their local community, what gives them the right to downgrade the hazard when it has already been set by the Secretary Of State, maybe if TBC had taken action in the first place none of this would be necessary but no TBC in their infinite wisdom decided to leave it until it got to this stage.
As the article suggests maybe the Belhus Councillors should live in an accomodation that hs this Toxic Black Mold and see how long it is before they start jumping up and down to get things done.
Perhaps we should have a response from Cllr’s Curtis & Curtis & Gray or perhaps the Portfolio Holder in Charge of Housing whoever he or she may be after Thursday’s elections?
For a number of years I lived in a ground floor flat in Cranell Green in South Ockendon – when we moved out there was thick black mould growing on the walls behind all our furniture. That was over 9 years ago so this is a long term problem. Would be interested to know if anything is being done.
After all if they are spending £20 million building hundreds of new council homes perhaps they should spend a fraction getting these homes habitable and cure this mould problem once and for all?
Oh dear Oh dear, dummer and dummer have been at it again. Does’nt this go to show how detatched they are from the real world and the residents. I think these two are past thier sell by date and need to be put out to green pasture’s, oh but then again they are already in green pasture’s (Brandon Groves) is it any wonder the residents are suffering. To come out with such rubbish is astounding, I think Thurrock council need to get a grip on this pair before they do any more damage to john kents election hopes, and just to let you know the other one who is even dummer sue gray has told residents she is not bothered if she does not win her election. In that gesture we can only sumise that she has never cared about her residents. Sums it all up really.
I have Read your comments Ed and hope I can give you an update. I have been trying to get the awareness out to the residents for the last nine months which I feel has been successful in part, over 2,000 leaflets have gone out to most homes in South Ockendon explaining the affects of mould/Aspergillus to human health, I approached Jackie Doyle Price last year to ask for her support and she has taken this very seriously to the extent of asking Andrew Stunnell Sec of State what the Governments protocol is on this.
The decent home standard was inroduced in 2001 to ensure that council properties meet a statutory mimnimum standard and are free from serious hazards (category 1) as defined by the housing Health and safty Rating system. Damp and Mould growth ia a category 1 Hazard. Councils are under a duty to take action in such cases.
In the meantime I have last week met with the Director of Health for South East and South west Essex who is now well aware of the dangers of mould and its category 1 Hazard and is in discussions with Mr Farrant, Chief Executive of Thurrock Council. Jackie doyle price is asking residents to contact her who are livivng with mould, from this she will make a dossier to present to Government for a bill to be passed, I am aware that Government are already making noises to support this.
It needs to be said that young children are very vunrable to the mould (Allergic Aspergillus) it also affects the elderly, those on chemo or those on medication which affects thier immune system, the list is endless. I hope this has been of help to those that are suffering.
I am very shocked and appaulled that councilors curtis and gray feel that this is of no urgent matter and have put it as a catorgary 4, laughable! To me they do not give a damn about residents just about themselves.
Like lambo mentions if it was them in this situation then they would want something done about it. I myself have lived in damp mould invested properties and now suffer with servere asthma. These poor people that are helpless and have to live in these conditions trying to bring up their family is crazy watching their children and themselves suffer on a day to day basis because of people like wendy curtis, charlie curtis and sue gray have no idea.
I really feel they should research this and get facts before catergorising it themselves, even though its been catergorised level 1. They need to start bucking their ideas up and start looking after their residents.
isnt it typicle that how two wayward ward councillors,cant agree with a directive issued by the Secretary for state who states, that black mould is a Danger to Life if breathed in so he gave it a category 1 because it is so dangerous, and how two numbnuts said that he doesnt kn ow what his talking about and said that they think it shouls be category 4?, not only are these two out of touch with not only the residents in the Belhus ward, but with the governments secretary of state, even the MP for Thurrock supports, as Brightspark said they dont give a damn about the residents in Thurrock, as long as they are alright, I thought it took the full council to vote on serious issues such as this, not two stupid egoists called Charley and Wendy Curtis, and as for the other Councillor Sue Gray, who spent the other day running around putting flyers in homes in the belhus ward, but not along Stifford Road I wonder why, I know it doesnt belong to the Belhus ward according to the three councillors for Belhus, Sue Gray as told several residents that she doesnt care if she gets in, as she as still got the SORA to fall back on, surely this cant be Labour policy, I wonder if John Kent knows about her telling residents this specially two days before her election to councillor for the Belhus Ward, why didnt she withdraw her name then, could it have been the £18,000 + a year.
I am afraid this is much worse an issue than currently seen.
I wrote to the Prime Minister last year about this issue and he wrote back saying he would pass it on to a government department to answer my technical questions and concerns. Nothing has been received 6 months later.
The big issue is how does a councillor or indeed their local government Environmental Health Officer identify any class of hazard 1-2-3-4 and its risk?
You might be surprised to find it is with algorithms. No science just sums. I have tried to calculate using examples of physical risk management but failed on all counts.
I have recently written to the PM again and asked for action and explanation as to why our laws are being abused, often to the detriment of those less likely able to defend themselves.
This is exasperated by the governments own advisors the Health Protection Agency who specifically wrote that mould mycotoxins are not a health hazard and nthat mould will disappear when buildings dry out.
In the USA there are more mould claims than asbestos. If mould wasn’t so harmful why have most insurance companies removed cover from policies?
Fear not jeffcharlton, three of the Labour councillors, Charlie and Wendy Curtis and Sue Gray, have acted on behalf of the council, and sent a letter out stating, that Black Mould is only a category 4 and not category 1, as the secretary for state states, according to them its all got out of hand, and they have sorted it out for the present Government, and the TBC, I suggest that the threat of Black Mould is real and is a killer, if the spores are breathed in over a short period of time, according to the secretary of state, and the british medical authority. so why are we still all arguing about it, its in the TBC homes and it kills, isnt that enough for the labour council, to get its fingers out, and do something about, instead of hoping it goes away, which this time it wont, MR,J.Kent Black Mould KILLS, THATS OFFICIAL…..
I add to the comments already made a copy of my “blog” to “Your Thurrock” which appears to have got lost in transmission.
“A Word in Your Ear” from Mr Peter Perrin.
Damp and Mould -Stop putting all the blame onto the tenants.
Since writing my previous blog on damp and mould titled “Belhus Ward Councillors dismiss Black Toxic Mould as a Low Category Hazard” it seems that some Councillors are now putting all the blame for the damp and mould in Council rented homes onto the tenants. They say the tenants are entirely to blame as a result of “bad practices” i.e. not opening windows when cooking or taking a bath, blocking air- vents, using tumble dryers, drying clothes on radiators, etc. The Councillors may have a point but perhaps they would do better if they showed some understanding of the reasons why tenants felt compelled to resort to these so-called “bad practices”.
Most of the Council housing stock was built before the introduction of central heating, tumble dryers, steamers and double glazing, all of which increase condensation which causes dampness resulting in mould. The “hole in the wall” ventilation may have been adequate at the time they were built but is no longer able to cope with modern day living and, I believe, is not a sensible way to ventilate a home. In the winter your home becomes an “ice box” and your heating costs soar to a level where you can no longer afford to adequately heat it. I also think there may be another cause of dampness in the home that the Council seem reluctant to consider as, if it were proved to be a cause of dampness, the Council would be responsible. I refer to the practice of “cavity wall filling” in which an insulating material is pumped into the cavity between the outer and inner wall of the building which is fine as long as the outer wall and damp corsing is still “fit for purpose” i.e. it keeps moisture out. If the outer wall is allowing moisture to penetrate into the material contained within the cavity, which then retains it somewhat like a sponge, when the heating is switched on the moisture is drawn into contact with the inside wall causing dampness thus enabling mould to grow. I am not an expert but I think my theory is a plausible one and is worthy of investigation by the Council.
Councillors why don’t you, instead of being in denial that mould is a category 1 hazard, i.e. life threatening, and that it is all the fault of the tenants and their “bad” practices, look to installing modern and appropriate methods of ventilation which are cost effective to both council tax payers and tenants.
I note that Southend Council is threatening to take legal action to prevent a private landlord, whose rented property was infested with mould, from re-letting the property until she complies with Health and Safety Law requiring that the property be free of category 1 hazards. Do I take it that there is one set of rules for private landlords and a different set of rules for Council landlords?
I understand there will be a considerable cost to the Council [Council Tax payers] in solving this problem and I am not suggesting there is a quick and easy fix. But where toxic mould is present there is a life threatening risk to the tenants and their families. Surely that is reason enough for the Council to take urgent action to resolve the issue of mould in their rented housing.
Instead of running around, as some Councillors are, telling tenants that mould is not a category 1[a threat to life] hazard but a category 4[not life threatening] hazard, Councillors should be sympathetic to the concerns of tenants, especially those with children. Tenants living in mould infested Council housing expect, rightly so, help and support from their Councillors not criticism and blame.
It is disgraceful some Councillors are more concerned with their own protection and unwilling to accept any obligation, on the Council’s part, to resolve the issue of dampness and mould and to ensure that Council rented properties are decent, safe and FREE from category 1 hazards such as toxic mould and asbestos.
Note for Cllr John Kent, Leader of the Council:- ACTION THIS DAY!