Residents say they’ve dealt with 16 years of sewage problems because of Orbit

Some residents have been complaining to the housing association since 2009.

Transcript

00:00It's getting worse.

00:0216 years of sewage leaks and maintenance woes here in Kingswear Gardens.

00:07Still no closer to a permanent fix from housing association orbit.

00:13At one point when it first happened the water was coming streaming along here up to the light.

00:18Harua Simba is just one of the residents who has woken to sewage spurting out of his taps and mould riddling his ceiling.

00:28And this is far from a new occurrence with the father of two's complaints to orbit starting way back in 2009.

00:38You know you wake up and you wonder what the next thing is that's going to go wrong.

00:42And it's a worry. It's a daily stress whether something's going to be contaminated,

00:48whether you're going to have that issue where it splurts up out of the sink and onto walls or onto the floor.

00:54And you have a constant daily reminder of it, especially with the cracks in the wall, things like that.

01:01You just have to deal with it every single day.

01:03Orbit says it's committed to a long term solution, stating it's cleaned the drains and surveyed the area for further works,

01:12apologising for any inconvenience caused.

01:16But for Haru, communication blockages with the Housing Association are just as real as the ones in his pipes.

01:24When you call up, they'll tell you that's a 24 hour job and you're there in the thick of it, so to speak.

01:30And you're thinking, well, this is an actual dire emergency for me. I need someone out now.

01:35You're kind of helpless, really. You don't really know exactly what to do because you know when you call Orbit,

01:39you're not going to get the answer to what you need.

01:42Haru and his family aren't the only ones flushed with anger, however.

01:47Other residents fear for the health of their often vulnerable families.

01:53I've been hearing stories about residents with children with autism who've been unable to go to the toilet

02:01because the bathrooms are in an unhygienic state.

02:08It's clear that Orbit haven't been fulfilling their duties in terms of providing decent homes, safe, hygienic homes.

02:17And it's really just got to a point now where we really need Orbit to up their game.

02:22While Orbit say they will update residents as soon as they can,

02:27enough is enough for Haru, who is currently taking Orbit to the Ombudsman.

02:33Yet more waiting in an ever-growing pipeline of reports and complaints.

02:39Oli Lieder in Strood.