Judith Holt and Andrew Rosindell MP standing by a lift in Charrington Court. Credit: Judith Holt
(Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Sebastian Mann)
The lifts in Charrington Court, in Romford, have been faulty since October last year, according to residents.
Parents were forced to carry their children up flights of stairs after both were out of action for two weeks in May.
At the time, they told the Romford Recorder they felt “trapped” in their homes.
Though they were eventually repaired, one of the lifts again broke down at the start of October. The other is said to be functioning fine.
One resident described it as a “year of breakdowns” in the ten-storey, 98-flat tower.
A spokesperson for Riverside, the housing association responsible for the building, said delays in ordering bespoke parts were to blame.
Councillor Judith Holt, a Conservative Councillor for the St Alban’s Ward, said: “We were first alerted to this unacceptable situation in May this year, which we understand has been going on since October 2023.
She added: “The last few occasions I have visited the flats to deliver my newsletters, at least one lift has been out-of-order, there have been security guards in attendance and the foyer by the letterboxes has been full of pushchairs.”
Andrew Rosindell, the Conservative MP for Romford, said in a statement: “I know full well that there are a number of young mothers with children living in the flats, plus older people with health problems.
“Even able-bodied residents would struggle without a properly functioning lift for a long period of time.”
He added: “I have received emails from a number of Charrington Court residents and, frankly, I have been shocked at what I have read.”
The Tory MP said the situation was “completely unsatisfactory” and criticised the management’s “poor excuses”.
In late October, Cllr Holt said the managing agent “still had not answered directly” when the two lifts would be repaired “properly and permanently”.
A spokesperson for Riverside said it had appointed a new contractor to assess the lifts after not being “completely satisfied” with the previous work.
He said: “Like our customers, we were not completely satisfied with previous efforts to resolve the recurring lift breakdowns, which is why we recently appointed a new external contractor who has thoroughly assessed the two lifts, identified the root cause of the problems and will complete any improvement works moving forward.
“While one of Charrington Court’s lifts remains operational and available for customer use, the second lift has currently been out of service since the start of [October].
“Although options for a temporary fix have been explored, with customer safety in mind, a full repair is required.
“However, we are unfortunately experiencing delays in restoring the second lift as our external contractor awaits bespoke parts that are not readily available.”
He added: “We want to further apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused by repeated lift issues at Charrington Court and provide reassurance that we are continuing to prioritise putting things right.”
After inspecting the lifts in May, Riverside concluded they will need to be replaced in 2027, unless they become fully unrepairable.
