THREE local authorities – Douglas Council and Malew and Peel Commissioners – believe cavity wall insulation installed in their properties under a central government scheme could be to blame for damp problems.
Social Care Minister Chris Robertshaw MHK has sought to alleviate residents’ fears, saying that the problems in Willaston are nothing to do with the installation of cavity wall insulation but because the external fabric has reached the end of its effective life.
Carol Malarkey, lead member of Douglas Council’s housing and property advisory committee, told councillors that if a scheme to remedy the problems wasn’t successful 130 houses in Willaston may have to be demolished.
A pilot scheme, financed by the DSC, to refurbish the external fabric of six houses to find out the best way forward is due to start next month.
Peel Commissioners’ town clerk Peter Leadley said there had been an increase in condensation in a number of its houses since cavity wall insulation was installed in 2009.
Tenants have been advised to ventilate their property regularly to try and deal with the problem.
Mr Leadley said: ‘If the problems become more significant we will have to deal with it.’
Meanwhile Malew commissioner Eddie Power said the authority was waiting for the results of a survey on its eight houses to see whether cavity wall insulation in its properties was to blame for damp.
‘It appears to be the same problem as Willaston but until we receive the full report we’re not 100 per cent sure.’
Mr Power, of Barrule Drive, Ballasalla, himself a social housing tenant, said he had to clean and repaint some parts of his house last year after they were covered in a black mould.
Mr Robertshaw said: ‘My department has consistently supported Douglas Council in identifying the most appropriate and sustainable way of addressing the deterioration in the fabric of the housing in Willaston.
‘It is unfortunate that recent public statements have not reflected the significant progress that has been made.
‘This refurbishment project has not been brought about because of the installation of cavity wall insulation but because the external fabric has reached the end of its effective life.’
The work will involve renewal of the roof coverings, fascias, soffits and rainwater goods as well as rebuilding the outer leaf of the external walls.
A DSC spokesman said Douglas Council had raised concerns about the deteriorating external fabric of many of the properties within the estate for a number of years. Condition surveys in 2008 and 2009 identified significant and extensive defects including extensive cracks on the external render, rubble within the base of some external wall cavities causing dampness to the inner leaf.
The department supports the council’s view that a major programme of refurbishment of the roofs and external walls is required.