COUNCILLOR Joy Beard has called for urgent action after Appeals Panel findings confirmed that downgrade decisions by the Housing Agency under the Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme contained significant legal and factual errors.
In one confirmed case, the Appeals Panel did not simply annul the downgrade, it went further and reinstated the homeowner’s original engineer’s recommendation of Option 1 – full demolition.
Cllr Beard described this as potentially a landmark moment.
“When an independent Appeals Panel finds significant errors of law and fact and restores Option 1, that is a very serious determination,” she said.
“It confirms that the downgrade decision was fundamentally flawed.”
There are also strong indications that a further two cases may have had their original engineers’ recommendations reinstated.
Clarification is currently being sought.
“If those additional reinstatements are confirmed, it strengthens the case that there was a systemic problem in how downgrades were handled,” she said.
However, Cllr Beard highlighted a deeply concerning inconsistency.
Seven earlier downgrade appeals were annulled.
In those cases, the Appeals Panel also identified significant errors of law and fact in the Housing Agency’s determinations.
Yet rather than making a determination on the remediation option of those homes, those families were sent back to the Housing Agency for reassessment.
“The same serious finding of significant errors of law and fact applied in those annulled cases,” Cllr Beard said.
“Yet those homeowners were reverted back to the very agency responsible for those flawed decisions.
“Why are families being sent back to the body that made legally defective determinations?”
Cllr Beard said the downgraded homeowners have no confidence in the Housing Agency and their decision making.
“These families have endured years of relentless stress,” she said.
“They have wrapped children’s bedrooms in tinfoil to try to keep out damp and cold.
“They have lived in mould-affected homes.
“They have feared for their children’s respiratory health and overall safety.
“They have watched cracks widen and blocks deteriorate.”
Cllr Beard paid tribute to the five-woman admin team who have supported downgraded homeowners throughout the appeals process.
“There is an extraordinary admin team of five women who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes,” she said.
“They have given up evenings, weekends and precious family time to research legislation, examine engineering standards, prepare appeal documents and support other homeowners.
“They are not professionals in this field.
“They are homeowners who refused to accept injustice.
“Their dedication has been nothing short of remarkable.”
Cllr Beard emphasised that she remains in regular contact with many downgraded homeowners.
“I speak to these families constantly,” she said.
“I know the stress they are under.
“I know the toll this has taken on their health and their families as their lives were left in limbo.
“I am in regular contact with them and I will continue to be there for support and guidance every step of the way.”
The Appeals Panel identified failures including improper application of IS 465, failure to follow Ministerial Guidelines, and failure to properly consider expert evidence.
Cllr Beard said this moment must mark a turning point.
“If significant errors of law and fact have been identified across multiple downgrade cases, then all similar decisions must be addressed consistently and fairly,” she said.
“Families cannot be recycled back into a flawed process.
“The scientific evidence is clear and the only option that will allow families to move on with their lives and not relive this nightmare in the future is Option 1.
“These families have suffered long enough,” she said.
“They deserve lawful decisions.
“They deserve fairness.
“And they deserve to feel safe in their own homes.”
