Slough Borough Council leaves bungalow residents in the dark

But this year Pat Phillips has spent her summer in the dark. Her plants have died and she couldn’t grow more. Instead of gardening, she spends her days worrying about what will happen next.

That’s because Pat and her neighbours have been made to live for six months underneath scaffolding that completely blocks their daylight after it was put up and left there by Slough Borough Council and its contractor Cardo.

“The only pleasure I had was with my garden and being able to give plants to other people here and there,” Pat says. “It was one of the best looking gardens in the block. There were roses all around and a lovely big fuchsia bush. It’s completely died from the bottom up now.

“All I do all day is worry about what’s going to happen next. It’s such a shame at the age of 86 to lose an entire summer – I may not be around for the next one, that is a fact. I’ve had heart attacks and a stroke and you just don’t know what’s around the corner.”

Pat Phillips' living room is left in darkness - even in the middle of the afternoon, with the curtains open (Image: Mike Swift) When the scaffolding went up, residents of the council-owned bungalows on Stratfield Road were told it would only be there for 12-14 weeks while roofs were replaced.

Halfway through October, it’s still there. And this little row of bungalows – tucked away between Stratfield Road and Wellington Street – has been engulfed in shadow.

Each has a small yard that the living room window looks out on – their main source of daylight. But the scaffolding covers these entirely, meaning no light gets in.

It’s left Stephen, a wheelchair user with poor eyesight, living in darkness. It was the height of the afternoon when the Observer visited, but when he turns his living room light off it may as well be nighttime with the curtains closed.

The scaffolding covers the bungalows completely (Image: Mike Swift) Stephen can’t get out much and has battled depression in the past. Now he says the lack of daylight is starting to get him down.

“When it’s dark or when we get a cloudy day it’s total black out there,” he says. “I’ve been in darkness since May – it gets you down. I’ve got enough problems with ill health and it just compounds it.”

To make matters worse, he says guttering was removed by roofers during work earlier in the year – expecting it would be put back soon. Instead, that too has been left. So when it rains, water floods in through Stephen’s front door, and he has to mop it all up.

He and Pat both say that drug dealers and users have been able to use the scaffolding to climb over their homes. The narrow path in front of the homes is secluded and hidden from view.

Scaffolding covers the bungalows (Image: Mike Swift)

Security gates at each end of the path were supposed to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour outside the vulnerable peoples’ homes. But now, Pat and Stephen say, the scaffolding has given criminals a way back in.

Stephen says he’s ‘given up’ trying to find out what will happen by the scaffolding. Slough Borough Council says that after new roof tiles were installed, the solar panels should have followed soon after.

But it says there was a delay in getting permission from the energy distribution company SSEN. A council spokesperson said they hope the scaffolding will finally be removed by the end of November.

They said: “We are aware of the scaffold blocking light into the properties, but unfortunately there was no other way to put it in place. The renewal of roofs was urgent due to a leak occurring into two of the bungalows.

“The solar panels, when installed, will be a significant financial benefit to each resident, helping to reduce their electricity bills. We apologise for the length of time this is taking and we anticipate the scaffold coming down at the end of November.

“We thank residents for their understanding and we will of course look to help make good any issues caused by the scaffold.”

Pat says she wants to 'show a bit of fight' (Image: Mike Swift)

But Stephen feels he’s had ‘no communication’ from Slough Borough Council. And Pat has struggled to figure out who is responsible – the council or its maintenance contractor Cardo, who the Observer has also contacted for comment.

They have – in every sense – been left in the dark. But Pat is determined to fight. She’s complained to the council and won’t stop until the scaffolding comes down and things are put right.”

“We want all the scaffolding taken down and we want all of those gardens that have been really damaged to be put back the way they were before,” she said. “It’s a case of trying to show a bit of fight.”