COUNCIL HOUSING CONDITION UNDER LIB DEM FIRE

Cambridge City Council’s Labour group has rejected a Liberal Democrat plan to tackle the city’s worsening housing crisis, following the revelation that nearly 300 tenant emails reporting damp and mould were lost. Executive Councillor Gerri Bird (Labour) further inflamed tensions by appearing to blame tenants for their own damp and mould problems during her response.

The Liberal Democrat amendment, proposed by Cllr Anthony Martinelli, aimed to address failing repairs, rising damp, and the recently revealed loss of tenant reports. It included hiring an officer to tackle the Decent Homes backlog and commissioning an external review of damp management, as well as pledging funding for a 100% affordable council house development at Stanton House in the city centre.

The rejected amendment follows unprecedented criticism of the council’s emergency repair service by council tenant and Cambridge Mayor Baiju Thittala at the Housing Scrutiny Committee earlier this month.

Cllr Martinelli stated, "The Council has no coherent plan. They ignore tenant pleas, as evidenced by the lost emails, and now blame them. We need action on damp, not excuses." He condemned the lost reports and the attempt to shift blame, adding, "This staggering loss of communication is a symptom of a council failing to listen to its residents." He further emphasised, “The tenants of Cambridge deserve better than a council that talks in circles, blames its residents, and refuses to learn from its own mistakes.”

He also expressed his concern about the rising rates of damp in Cambridge's poorly insulated homes. “We know that rates of damp are increasing in Cambridge's poorly insulated council homes, leaving tenants in situations that are not only unpleasant, but potentially risky to their health. We can see from the figures that despite identifying more and more cases, the council is managing to complete fewer and fewer works to resolve them. This also leaves the Council at risk of costly legal claims.”

"The Liberal Democrats pledge to continue holding the Council accountable for its housing failures, ensuring that tenant concerns are not ignored.”