Fife Council criticised over fire-damaged flat repairs

Fife Council has been slammed for taking six months to repair a fire-damaged flat in Tayport.
Cllr Tim Brett criticised the length of time it has taken for repairs to be carried out.Cllr Tim Brett criticised the length of time it has taken for repairs to be carried out.
Cllr Tim Brett criticised the length of time it has taken for repairs to be carried out.

The Ogilvy Street flat has been unoccupied since the fire in April. However, it has taken Fife Council five months to agree that repairs needed to be carried out.

The council is due to begin repairs on October 29, and aims to have the work completed by November 30.

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Cllr Tim Brett criticised the council for the length of time it has taken for repairs to be carried out, noting that around 100 people were on the housing waiting list for Tayport.

“Since the end of April I have been asking the housing service when repairs will be undertaken,” Cllr Brett said. “It has taken five months for the council’s loss adjusters to agree to the repairs that need to be carried out, and I find this is unacceptable.”

Cllr Brett said he had written to the head of housing and director of finance asking them to ensure there was a quicker response in the future, to a new tenant could be offered the property.

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A Fife Council spokesperson said: “John Mills, head of housing services, has acknowledged a significant delay in the process for costing and beginning repairs on this council property.

“After investigating the delay in starting the re-instatement works at this ground floor property it would appear that a misunderstanding of process approval within housing services was the main cause of delay.

“A complete review of the process is underway to ensure that this does not happen in future.”