By Jamie Waller, Local Democracy Reporter
Newark & Sherwood District Council is looking to sell off three homes with chronic damp and mould problems.
More than 100 repair jobs have been carried out at the three properties on London Road in Balderton in the last seven years.
The damp and mould growth inside them has now become a threat to health, according to a council report.
Two of the homes are vacant, with one family being rehoused after making a complaint, but the third home is occupied by a long-standing tenant.
A report going before Cabinet next week (June 4) says that repairing or rebuilding the homes would be expensive and time-consuming, and recommends that they are sold off.
The damp has appeared in the homes’ kitchens, bathrooms and an upstairs bedroom despite frequent attempts to deal with it.
A total of 62 repair jobs have been carried out at one property since 2017 and 51 at another, compared to an expected number three or four per year.
The third property has only reported five issues during this time, but inspections to the outside of the home suggest that there are similar problems.
The damp and mould is rated as a category 1 hazard under the Housing Health and Ratings System, which can cause the most serious harm.
The buildings were originally agricultural barns which were converted into Victorian terrace houses.
The necessary repairs to keep the council homes in service would cost just over £330,000, and the remaining tenant would need to be moved for around nine months.
Demolishing the homes and rebuilding them would also be “economically unviable”, according to the report, with an estimated price tag of £470,000.
The report recommends that they are sold off as being not fit for purpose.
However, it says there that family homes like them are “high demand, low availability” in the area.
A final decision will be made at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, June 4.
