'˜No end in sight' for residents as tower block lift nightmare continues

Resident Martin Foster is among those complaining about the maintenance of the lift at Ark Royal House, Blanchard Avenue, Gosport Picture: Chris Moorhouse

Residents of Ark Royal House in Blanchard Avenue, Gosport say that developer Taylor Wimpey is keeping them in the dark over the future of their lift.

The lift has not been fully operational for almost five months, with homeowners at their wits’ end.

Issues became public last month, but residents say that since then not much has changed.

Ark Royal House, Blanchard Avenue, Gosport

They say that the lack of a lift is presenting a danger to some of the residents, some of whom are elderly or are recovering from severe illness.

Resident Martin Foster, 26, said: ‘The lift has been temporarily fixed a few times, but continues to break down on a regular basis.

‘The housing provider, Vivid Homes, has been superb throughout but Taylor Wimpey isn’t communicating with us.

‘All of us residents keep in touch with one another and none of us have heard anything concrete from them.

‘Everyone is fed up with the way we have been treated by Taylor Wimpey – a lot of us have bought our homes outright and are starting to regret it.’

According to Martin, the lift being out of order is a major risk for some of the residents.

He said: ‘We have some elderly residents living on the top floor and to be forced to use the stairs every time they want to go out is a real hazard.

‘We just want to be told what is going on by Taylor Wimpey – it is beyond a joke now and a lot of us have simply had enough and see no end in sight.’

A spokesman for Taylor Wimpey said: ‘We would like to sincerely apologise to our customers for the lift issues at Ark Royal House.

‘We continue to liaise with contractors to resolve the issues with the lift as quickly as practicably possible.

‘We have additional staff stationed in the building to provide help with carrying bags and other items while the lift is out of order.’

Kevin Hartshorn, head of assets at Vivid, said: ‘We understand that our customers are frustrated with the ongoing issues at Ark Royal House and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.

‘We’re in ongoing and regular liaison with Taylor Wimpey who is responsible for the lift and any defect works with the building.

‘We’ve been keeping residents informed via a weekly email communication, or as soon we have any information that affects them, and we’ll continue to do so until all issues are resolved.’