Householder hits out at ‘shoddy work’ in improvement scheme

Mar 27 2008 By Graham Fraser

A BLANTYRE man has slammed a council contractor for their ‘shoddy work’.

Unemployed Andrew Brankin (46), of Hazelwood Drive, Blantyre has hit out at Campbell Construction Group following work which has been carried out at his home.

The company have been carrying out work at his home on behalf of South Lanarkshire Council for the past three weeks.

This week, Mr Brankin said: “I have no issue with the council, but I do have a problem with Campbell Construction Group.

“They have come in to do work in my bathroom, kitchen and the wiring in my house.

“But they have made a mess of it. They said the improvements would take 15 days, but on the 15th day wires are hanging off the wall and the plastering is all falling off.

“The new kitchen they have installed is ridiculous. The design is all wrong.

“There is not enough room in the cupboards to store my dinner plates. I have to put them in a drawer.

“A gas pipe which is supposed to be concealed is dangling from the ceiling.

“The council have told Campbell Construction to do work at my house and they haven’t done it.

“The whole thing is just very shoddy.”

Cambuslang firm Campbell Construction Group are currently carrying out the council’s Home Happening programme on homes in Hazelwood Drive, including Mr Brankin’s council house.

The residents are so incensed they organised a meeting yesterday (Wednesday) to discuss the situation.

Campbell Construction Group are administering Home Happening for the council.

The programme includes external fabric repairs, internal electrical rewires and kitchen/bathroom replacements throughout the South Lanarkshire area.

Mr Brankin suffers from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a lung disorder caused by smoking.

He claims the large quantity of dust caused by the work in his home is aggravating his illness.

A spokesman for South Lanarkshire Council said: “We regret the inconvenience caused to our tenant during housing improvement work in his home.

The work is not yet finished and we will visit Mr Brankin and ensure that any outstanding works are carried out promptly and to a satisfactory standard.

“Since the Home Happening housing improvement programme started in 2004, the homes of nearly 14,000 tenants throughout South Lanarkshire have been fitted with modern kitchens and bathrooms

“On completion of improvement work in their home, every tenant is asked to complete a customer satisfaction form.

“From these surveys 99 per cent of tenants have told us that they are satisfied with the quality of the finished product and 99% on the overall satisfaction of the service.”

Campbell Construction Group declined to comment on the matter.