It smells of sewage and death’: Furious residents complain they have been left in ‘sickening’ conditions at run-down tower block for days
- Pleck House tower in Birmingham is stagnant with the smell of leaking sewage
- The city council apologised and promised to help tenants struggling to endure it
Families living in a foul-smelling tower block in Birmingham say they have been left gagging for breath by the stench of leaking sewage.
The city council has since apologised for conditions in Pleck House tower in the Druids Heath area of the city and promised to act quickly after residents condemned the slow response.
‘It smells of sewage and death,’ said community forum member Olly Armstrong.
Sewage water has been leaking and pooling across the ground floor entrance area, with the smell rising all the way through to the 12th floor, he added.
The smell was so bad, Mr Armstrong said he thought he was going to vomit.
Residents in Pleck House tower block in Druids Heath, Birmingham, say they have been left in ‘sickening’ conditions for days
‘It smells of sewage and death,’ said community forum member Olly Armstrong
Tenants say they have been forced to live with the vile smell for nearly three weeks, with temporary fixes failing to address the issue.
Some 49 of the flats are occupied, many by young families.
Mr Armstrong added: ‘We spoke to tenants who said it had been reported a number of times. The smell reaches all the way up to the 12th floor. I wish I could record the smell because you would be horrified.
‘People are placed here to live and this should be a safe secure place. The council’s responsibility is to its tenants and their health and care should be paramount. This should not be happening.’
Dave Stamp, also from the forum, said members had been visiting the block to check in with local residents about their housing conditions and came across the sewage ‘flood’. ‘The smell is unbearable. Tenants say it’s been like this for over two weeks.’
In a video shot inside the tower block, he said: ‘I walked through the door and instantly was hit by this gag-inducing smell that smells very much like sewage.’ He said more water can be heard leaking in, with flies all over the place.
A blocked sewage pipe and a problem inside a flat had conspired to cause the problem, said the council.
The condition of Pleck House in Birmingham has been roundly criticised by residents
Tenants say the tower block is plagued with damp and the smell of overflowing sewage has been ‘sickening’
Residents in Druids Heath are caught up in regeneration plans which will eventually see some of the tower blocks demolished and new homes put up.
Other issues have been highlighted inside the block, including damp and communal areas in poor repair.
Rebecca Winson, from the New Economics Foundation, said residents in Druids Heath are caught up in regeneration plans which will eventually see some of the tower blocks demolished and new homes put up.
In the meantime, there was concern about the state of some of the blocks, she said.
Ms Winson described the current situation as ‘sickening’, adding: ‘It takes quite a lot to shock me but a fortnight of raw sewage, in a building full of young families, being simply shrugged off by a council is one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.’
In a statement, Birmingham City Council said: ‘We are extremely sorry that the residents at Pleck Tower have been subjected to this leak and associated smell.
‘The cause is a blockage further along the main drain which we have raised and been working to clear in conjunction with Severn Trent Water.
‘We raised the blockage with them on a number of occasions and it was cleared but kept coming back. During our most recent visit a break on the stack in a flat, where a blockage had previously been cleared, was discovered.
‘We have carried out a temporary repair and are carrying out a permanent fix as a follow up.’ The work was being done this week, they added.
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