BASILDON Council is being forced to spend about £1million revamping flats in a sheltered housing complex, which are riddled with damp.

Angry residents called in the Local Government Ombudsman after the council failed to tackle problems on the second floor of Spencer Court, Wickford.

Roof and window repairs, costing more than £700,000, are now being carried out on the complex, in Irvon Hill Road. Extra work is expected to take the repair bill close to £1million.

Tory council leader Malcolm Buckley has apologised for the fact the council took so long to get organised and repair the leaks. He said: “It’s bad enough someone had to complain in the place, but I apologise the council then failed to deal with the problem once it had been alerted.”

However, councillor John Dornan, a board member of St George’s Community Housing, which manages the district’s council homes, fears the money will be wasted.

He says the repairs will only offer a temporary solution to the problems, explaining: “What it really needs is a new pitched roof.

“Spencer Court has a flat roof, which is just a trap for water, so there will always be leaks.

“It is costing close to £1million to fix this building and it won’t solve the problem.”