Park Street Homes Criticised for Being Too Cold

A disabled woman from Alder Closer, Park Street in St. Albans, has criticised homes for being poorly constructed and difficult to keep warm.

Dena Glass, 66, lives in a one-bedroom bungalow, and states that she has asked the St Albans district council on many occasions to fit double glazing in the windows of her home and surrounding bungalows, to improve insulation and keep them warmer. All bungalows are occupied by elderly people.

Glass added that the bungalows are ‘flimsily constructed’ and that they get very cold in the winter, meaning central heating must be left turned up high. She believes double glazing would provide a solution to the problem but that it seems unlikely she will get it for some time.

Other issues with the housing area include security issues, as well as a lack of privacy, due to a lack of fencing around the communal garden. Mrs Glass is so far unable to get all residents to agree to the fencing.

The council’s portfolio holder for housing, Joyce Lusby, has said that ‘we do have a programme of double glazing planned for our housing stick but this has to be prioritised due to funding and the residents of Alder Close will have to wait their turn’.

Double glazing is known to help keep heat inside the home, allowing central heating to be turned down, and reducing heating bills by an average of £135 per year.