Ongoing

We have Nigel Long, the MKC Cabinet member responsible for housing, attending our September TBRA meeting on 26th. As there are multiple issues around Tinkers Bridge which require action from Milton Keynes Council, we would like to present him with petitions identifying the major issues, and proving that the concern about them is share by many residents. There is different sheets for each of the six identified areas of

• Council House Maintenance
• Car Ports and Bin storage
• Trees
• Storm water drains (flooding)
• Speeding in Tinkers Bridge (20 mph speed limit)
• Footpath Lighting (LED units not satisfactory)

Hopefully, lots of people will attend on the evening and sign these sheets, but if you can not attend, please sign the sheets in advance. They are available from John Orr.

Summary of known problems with houses on Tinkers Bridge

Compiled following conversations with residents, May/June 2018

It remains a great disappointment to TBRA that the details of the stock condition survey carried out by Pennington Choices in January 2017 has not been released. It should have picked up all these issues, and been more able to quantify their importance. Until that information is released the view of TBRA on that survey is that it has been a waste of time and money.

Rain water drainage

1) Gutters are blocked. The tenancy agreements TBRA have seen clearly state that the council, as landlord, is responsible for gutters and drains.

2) No adequate route to downpipes from gutters. This may be due to adjacent properties, not owned by the council, having blocked gutters, or the gutter fall being incorrect, or other modifications done to the guttering. Given a storm water drain runs outside the rear of most, possibly all, the houses on Tinkers Bridge, it is practical to add extra downpipes to solve this problem.

3) Patios without drainage. If these are outside the back of the houses, and especially if the gardens slope down to them, then standing water can accumulate on them, eventually causing flooding. The same storm water drain can be used to provide local drainage to patios.

4) Blocked pavement drains. Although road drains were cleared in the last couple of years, many on the pavement are totally blocked

Rain water penetration into houses

1) Multiple houses report water coming in windows or window vents or window seals. The original house design had a weather strip above the windows, but, through bad maintenance, this has rotted and broken on a number of houses, which may be contributing to the problem. It appears that the hinges on some windows are not strong enough, allowing windows to drop, which makes them difficult to close, and possibly allows water ingress.

2) Leakage through timber panels. As these are timber framed houses, standing water against the outside panels can result in water seeping into the house. One house reported a bulging panel, possibly the result of water.

3) Rising through floors. At least one house reported water rising through the floor. This would imply problems with one or more of a) the water table level, b) the damp proof layer of the floor, c) build up of soil/rubble/water in air space under floor

4) Roof and attic leaks. Several houses have holes into the attic round an overflow pipe, which allows ingress of water, and of birds and other creatures. There is a relatively small number that have other leaks in their roofs.

Wind proof

Multiple residents report drafts, especially in the kitchen coming in through the electrical supply cupboard, but also upstairs. Most privately owned houses on the estate took advantage of a grant scheme in 2012/13 to have exterior thermal insulation applied at a cost of £1.00, which has cured the problem in those houses. Unfortunately, the council failed to make use of the same grant for the council stock.

Heating

Several residents report problems with their heating, often the controls not working correctly. Some vulnerable residents were without heating fr up to a week over the last winter. Fuel Poverty is one of the economic factors feeding into the selection of the priority regeneration estates, and the 2017 government figures show the percentage on Tinkers Bridge has increased.

Painting and woodwork

Originally, the outer wood of the Tinkers Bridge houses was repainted every 5 years. It is now believed to be 15 years since they were last repainted, which has allowed some wood to rot, especially at low level where it may have been in contact with standing water. Some weather strips above windows are now missing due to rot, further increasing the rate of deterioration.

Car ports and bin cupboards

Some car ports are believed to be in a dangerous state. Some have been removed without the tenant gaining compensation for the loss of that facility. Some bin cupboards are not rodent proof, which pleases the local rat population. At least one bin cupboard was removed after being hit by a lorry some years ago, and has not been replaced, leaving the resident with no storage for her bins.

Parking

In 2015, money allocated to improving parking in Tinkers Bridge was withdrawn by Milton Keynes Highways. Parking is often a problem. One resident suggest that house numbers should be painted on the parking spaces.

Condensation

This has been reported at a couple of houses. TBRA acknowledges that the need here may be to educate the tenant.

Overcrowding

TBRA acknowledges that the relevant legislation is section 324 of the 1985 Housing act, and, along with many others, has the view that this should be updated,, lowering the nominal capacity of dwellings. Although they may still be legal, several families are, in our opinion, overcrowded.

Rats

Rats have become a major problem this year. In addition to solving the problem, we would like to understand why it has only been a major problem this year..

Anti-social behaviour

A minority do indulge in anti-social behaviour of many kinds, from lack of consideration about noise or parking through to the occasional violent attack. The willingness and ability of the police to respond to calls about such incidents has left many residents disillusioned with the authorities.

The attached image comes from a 2015 overview of land in Milton Keynes. It names the open spaces in Tinkers Bridge as W84, W85, W86, W87, and W88, with the last 4 listed as having development potential, but small size. The reason for this data being collected in not known. nor is the use of this data.

In Easter 2016, a survey was done, taking photographs of potholes around Tinkers Bridge. The report was sent to Milton Keynes Council, and resulted in a site visit on 24 May 2016. Very little then occurred until, in Spring 2018, potholes on the through road were repaired.

The trees on the estate cause problems with obscuring light to dwellings, with roots blocking drains, and distorting paths. They need to be well maintained, and some types may have been unsuitable for this area and so should be removed.