Tenants in a lather as communal washing machines keep breaking down

Communal washing machines and dryers keep breaking down in council tower blocks, with tenants blaming a lack of maintenance.

The problems prompted a series of questions to officials at housing management panel meetings held by Brighton and Hove City Council.

Tenants asked for more washers and dryers, action on delayed repairs and a delayed review of facilities.

The 1960s blocks of flats in Kemp Town included laundry rooms because washing machines in individual homes were much less common then than now.

And the original plans from more than 60 years ago did not allow space to plumb in modern washing machines.

The poor reliability was raised at a housing management panel meeting this week, at the Craven Vale Community Centre, with tenant representatives, councillors and housing officials present.

Somerset Point resident Eileen Stewart cited the long delays for machine repairs which were being carried out by an external contractor.

She said that Somerset Point, a seniors’ housing block, was currently down to just one washing machine.

Mrs Stewart said: “We have two washing machines and two dryers. The dryer was out of commission for four months and the washing machine has been out of commission for nearly a month.

“They’ve got to get a spare part. Surely they know they’ve got a contract and they keep certain spare parts so it can be changed.”

The council’s head of housing investment and asset management, Geoff Gage, said that the issues were being raised with the contractor by property managers to ensure the machines, which the council rents, were repaired.

In a written response, Mr Gage said: “Our contract for laundry servicing cannot provide a specific repair timeline due to the nature of the repair.

“We do have a clause expecting a response time but this does not allow for parts that may be unavailable.

“We are currently reviewing our options with regard to this contract.”

There were also complaints about a shortage of machines elsewhere in Brighton and Hove.

Essex Place tenants share their laundry with those living in neighbouring blocks – and they were promised a machine from a closed laundry at Hampshire Court, as were tenants in Wiltshire House.

They have yet to receive them and Mr Gage said that work was under way to secure more machines.

There are 14 laundries in council blocks of flats in Brighton and Hove, subject to a review which residents were told would go before the council’s cabinet in March.

But tenants were told that the review was being completed and would be shared with them through the four housing management panels before it went before the council’s cabinet.