Gravesend resident feels council missed essential repairs with large cracks on his property

He says they've continued to neglect repairs since 2019, with gaps almost a centimeter wide running from ground to roof seen.  Meghan Shaw reports.

Transcript

00:00Cracks from floor to ceiling and a sinking home.

00:03Just a few of Sunder Kooten's issues that are yet to be fully resolved by Gravesham Council.

00:09The mid-terrace property off Windmill Street in Gravesend has been occupied by Mr Kooten since July 2019

00:15when he was told that existing cracks would be monitored every three months.

00:20Mr Kooten said the council, in fact, did not come for two years,

00:24despite reporting the issue to local authorities multiple times.

00:28From the soil samples, they said that the foundations on a low-strength material,

00:35Gerd Ipkatora from the Gravesham Borough Council wrote me a letter saying

00:40there's nothing to be alarmed about when there's everything to be alarmed about.

00:45And I thought to myself, if it was your house, wouldn't you be alarmed if it was on low-strength material?

00:51The council claimed the cracks were one to two millimetres wide, but Sunder measured them much larger.

00:56I sent them letters with photographs in there saying that the actual gaps were six to seven millimetres wide,

01:05and I could put my farm in the gaps.

01:08Despite raising the issue multiple times, Mr Kooten was forced to seek legal assistance,

01:14where a court settlement gave authorities 56 days to rectify cracks in and out of the house,

01:21alongside consequential damp and mould issues.

01:23The council painted over and filled the gaps, even though such problems were caused by subsidence,

01:30where the ground sinks and foundations shift.

01:33For Sunder, the repairs are both insufficient and not a viable solution.

01:37They covered all the gap, basically a cover-up job.

01:42They breached a settlement.

01:43And now I'm taking legal action again.

01:46The local council are supposed to be law holders, law upholders.

01:51They're supposed to be obeyed by the rules, obeyed by the laws.

01:54They're supposed to uphold the law.

01:56They haven't.

01:56Something has to be done, you know, because they're going around being slum landlords, basically.

02:01We approached Gravesham Council for comment, but they said they were unable to at this time,

02:07as legal proceedings are ongoing.

02:10Sunder hopes a more concrete answer will follow,

02:13but until now remains disillusioned with a sticking plaster solution.

02:17Megan Shaw for KMTV in Gravesend.