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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Saima Akhtar

The man who just wants a nice life in a comfortable flat - but has been 'let down badly'

Life at Bradford Court hasn't always been easy for Mervyn Drage.

The stairlift, for one thing, is the bane of his life. And his fire's on the blink.

Many skip up the seven steps at the ground floor entrance, but for Mervyn, it's a constant source of frustration.

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In recent weeks, he's found himself stranded.

The lift, he says, is often broken.

More than a few times, it's been hit by vandals.

The stairlift on the ground floor (Adam Vaughan)

"It doesn't mean anything to anyone that's fit and able," he says.

"But I’ve often been stuck at the bottom when I'm going into hospital."

Mervyn, 65, lives in a three-bedroom flat at the high rise on Whistable Road in Moston.

He's been there for 26 years.

Suffering from a number of health conditions, the RAF veteran struggles with some simple tasks and has difficulty walking.

He's currently waiting to go into hospital to have fluid pumped out of his body.

Navigating those seven steps - without the help of the lift - is exhausting for Mervyn.

And it's not his only complaint.

Bradford Court (Adam Vaughan)

He's not happy it took bosses 'over a year' to sort him a wet room, as he struggles with traditional bathroom fixtures.

The fire in his front room is broken, too.

Someone came out to fix it last week, but it still doesn't work.

He's unhappy 12 small holes made in his walls as part of asbestos testing were covered with black tape for weeks.

It was eventually sorted, but not quickly enough for Mervyn.

"Everything is so slow," he says.

"It's not really 21st Century quality. We are paying our rent and we deserve a good service."

The list of snags seems never-ending for Mervyn.

Melvyn Drage (Manchester Evening News)

"There is snagging where they’ve made gaps in re-wallpapering," he says.

"In the front room, there is a large gap where they didn’t wallpaper it properly and it looks very ugly.

"I've been waiting about six months for them to put new wallpaper on in the front room.

"These are tiny little repairs that would take 10 minutes."

It's not just his flat that has issues, Mervyn says.

Communal areas need sorting, too.

"The biggest issues are when you go back downstairs," he adds.

The fire at Mervyn's flat is on the blink (Adam Vaughan)

"It's the poor state of the interiors, in the foyer and corridors. It's dirty. The common areas need re-painting and re-decorating.

"The floors need doing. The ceilings need doing.

"That's for all 100 of us living here."

Talking about the stairlift, Mervyn says: "You’re supposed to jump in it, press a button and go up the seven steps.

"I've been in and out of hospital with heart failure.

"It causes me and several other tenants enormous problems, getting up those seven steps.

"The lift needs replacing, it's going to cost a few thousand pounds."

He's made a number of complaints (Adam Vaughan)

Mervyn does have some praise for Northwards Housing, which manages council homes in north Manchester.

"They have spent a fortune on sprinklers, all over," adds.

They have redecorated my front room. I can’t fault them for that. That is a plus."

Residents at Bradford Court are interested in setting up a tenants' association, according to Mervyn.

"I know there are landlords that are 10 times worse," he adds.

"But the tenants can only do what we can do.

"We’ve all got the same thing to say. It's a poor quality lift and we can’t get hold of repairs.

"I’ve been living here 20-odd years.

A part of the living room wall which Mervyn has complained about (M.E.N.)

"Northwards Housing are blowing hot and cold all the time.

"Sometimes, they do a really good job and then they let you down badly."

In a statement, Manchester council said: "When something as important as a stairlift breaks down, we know that it's not only frustrating but also really limiting for people who rely on it.

"There have been instances over the past few years where the stairlift has stopped working - and there have also been some unfortunate acts of vandalism - but our contractor has moved to repair the lift promptly.

"Our contractor has been alerted to the most recent issue with the lift and will schedule a repair as soon as possible."

The town hall is keen to highlight improvements Northwards has made in the past 10 years, at a cost of around £1.2m.

They include new kitchens and bathrooms; electrical updates; new sprinkler systems; window maintenance; new heat pre-payment meters; a new door entry system; a new communal boiler; refurbishment of lifts; and low energy lighting installation.

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