People feeling stuck in flats as mortgage firms won't touch them

RESIDENTS of a Swansea high-rise blighted by fire safety issues say they have been waiting eight years for the problems to be resolved.

- SHAURYA SHAURYA

They claim it's left them unable to sell as mortgage providers won't lend money against the flats. Some suggest their mental health has taken a battering as a result.

While some issues have been resolved, several still remain, leaving residents feeling angry, frustrated and exhausted.

The residents live in the Altamar building, located in King's Road, Swansea, which was found to have various fire safety issues brought to light by surveys carried out after the Grenfell fire. During 2017 and 2018, the building was issued an enforcement notice by Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service (MWFRS).

Though the requirements of the enforcement notice were met by October, 2019, other issues still remain.

When we last covered the issue in October, 2024, the developer, Bellway, told us they were "doing everything we can to give residents the peace of mind they deserve."

Over nine months later, residents claim no significant work has been undertaken, and are now calling on the Welsh Government to sanction Bellway.

Bellway has told us that the issues are "lengthy and complex" and have been "hampered" by ongoing legal proceedings.

The Welsh Government has said it is "monitoring the works closely" and is actively engaging with developers across Wales to address fire safety issues.

Geoff Spight, 81, who moved to the building in 2019, said: "It's been going on eight years now, and it's only because I'm a strong-willed person that I'm not in a mental institution.

"It's all consuming every day of my life. I've spent 45 hours, since the beginning of this month [July] of my own work and it's all to do mainly with fire, addressing some of the issues that we are responsible to do, not Bellway."

Mr Spight claimed that despite several surveys being done, there hadn't been any further work.

"It's only surveys 22 surveys we've done on this building now," Mr Spight claimed.