West Bromwich tower block resident left without gas after leak
People living in flats are facing weeks with no heating after the gas supply was turned off.
The tap was stopped at St Mary’s House in West Bromwich over safety fears after a gas leak was discovered.
A total of 16 residents have been affected and have been given electric cookers and heaters while repair works take place.
Cadent is designing a new pipe to be fitted and expects the gas supply to be off for a further three weeks.
That means more discomfort for residents as the weather is expected to turn cold as we enter mid-November.
The leak was discovered on October 17.
Kerrie Carmichael, Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for housing said: “The gas is off to part of the block due to a leak on the main, which is being dealt with by contractor Cadent.
“We have assisted Cadent in contacting affected residents and Cadent has provided tenants with temporary heaters and cookers.
“We are working with the liaison officer from Cadent to provide any assistance to affected residents in the meantime.”
The gas leak has affected residents living in one vertical column of the flat, owned by Sandwell Council and located in Summer Street.
A spokesman for Cadent said: “We are working to restore gas supplies to residents in 16 flats in St Mary’s House, after a leak on a gas pipe that runs inside the fabric of the building.
“Safety is our top priority and we had to cut off the gas supply to stop the gas leaking into people’s homes. We are doing all we can to get people back on gas as soon as possible and we’d like to thank the residents for bearing with us. We will be replacing the leaking pipe with a new pipe that will run on the outside of the building. Designs for the new pipe are in the final stages and we aim to start installing the new pipe next week. The work is expected to take up to three weeks.
“We are very conscious of the welfare of the residents. People have been supplied with heaters and we’ve provided electric cookers for those who didn’t have them already. We have also been liaising closely with Sandwell Borough Council.
“We have been keeping in touch with residents. We will be holding a drop-in session tomorrow at St Mary’s House, where residents can come and talk to us.”
Anyone with concerns can call 0161 703 1000.
