Pill locals who have had rain coming through their ceilings are urging their housing association to replace their building’s ageing roof.

The Miller’s Close flats are run by Alliance Homes which says it is committed to replacing the roof as soon as possible, but the people who live there say they have not all been kept up to date with what is happening. Meanwhile, patches of damp are continuing to grow in their flats.

Resident John Lawrence said that repairs which had been done had patched over damp but not tackled the real issue of the roof, which people in the building fear has rotting beams and soaked insulation. He said: “I’m an ex-roofer. I’m an ex-scaffolder. And they are not doing the job properly.”

At a meeting at the flats with local councillor on North Somerset Council, Jenna Ho Marris (Pill, Green), on Friday March 1, people said that water leaking through the roof into many flats — prompting concern for electrics, furnishings, and health.

One tenant, Jon, said that all three of his smoke alarms had been set off by a leak coming through the ceiling a couple of months ago. He said: “I had to wear ear protectors because the noise was so loud.”

He said Alliance had come round a few hours later to deal with the alarms. They removed one alarm and stopped them going off, but there are still patches of damp across his ceiling and a growing mould problem in one room. He said: “I know once that starts forming it’s a nightmare to health.”

Another resident, Dawn Badman, said: “Every time my electricity drops they want me to get on a ladder to fix it, or pay a £75 call out charge.”

Hearing this, fellow resident Bob Taylor insisted she should ask him to come round next time it happens. He’s had repeated issues with leaks coming through the ceiling in his upstairs flat for the past six years. Part of his ceiling was replaced in February 2023, but has been left as raw plaster for a year now.

A few days after Christmas, residents of another flat had water coming through their bedroom wall around the window at night. One of them said: “It was pouring down, splashing. It’s ruined my blinds. It’s cracked all the plaster.”

She added: “My husband had to put some foil to get it into a pot.” She added that they called Alliance the next day and someone came round on January 15. She said: “If we were isolated and it wasn’t leaking somewhere else, I would say they’ve done their job.”

But she added that it wasn’t just affecting them — it was an issue across the building. Sue, who also has an upstairs flat and has damp patches on her bedroom ceiling, said: “It’s the whole roof really. I could hear it drip in the night. I think its up in the loft and its dripping on the beams.”

There are issues downstairs too. In a walk-in cupboard in Yvonne’s downstairs flat, wet patches on the ceiling around the light and on the walls appeared last week and have been getting bigger overnight.

She reported the issue to Alliance but said: “They are telling me that unless water us physically coming through or the ceiling is bowing, its not an emergency.”

As well as the local councillor for Pill, Ms Ho Marris is the executive member responsible for homes and health on North Somerset Council. She said: “North Somerset is experiencing a housing crisis, just like everywhere else in the country. Of course we want people to have a roof over their heads.

“But we all know that the quality of housing has real impacts to residents’ mental and physical health. That’s why our partnership administration made me responsible for Homes and Health together. Alliance is the council’s strategic partner for housing development, we value our relationship with them.

“It’s not about pointing fingers, we all have a role to play, but let’s think about what can change, to make things better for our residents’ health and wellbeing.”

A spokesperson for Alliance Homes said: “We’re aware of the roofing issues affecting homes at Millers Close in Pill and understand our customers’ concerns. Our repairs team have been working to resolve all the leaks reported to us by customers.

“To address these issues permanently, we will replace all roofs at Millers Close. We’re currently liaising with contractors to schedule the roof replacement and we’re committed to starting works as soon as practicably possible.

“In the meantime, we’re encouraging all affected customers to report any leaks directly to us so we can make sure that these are dealt with immediately.”

Another councillor, Dan Thomas (Congresbury and Puxton, Green) has asked the housing association to attend North Somerset Council’s scrutiny panel which looks at housing issues on March 21. He said: “I think it’s time that Alliance reports more closely to the council, and to the public. We are putting residents in housing that is, in some cases, in dire need of repair and maintenance, and it is our residents and the council that pays for the consequences.”

“On the other hand, Alliance has a lot of pressures, residents are reasonable and understand that, so it’s also about more open and better communication, which I hope this regular […] report will help achieve.”