Red Kite Community Housing slammed as Wycombe houses damaged

Rob Lisowski, who lives on Havenfield Road, has revealed that eight buildings along the street have been impacted by ‘cowboy outfits’ which have seen interior and exterior cracks appear.

The work, which was commissioned by Red Kite to New Meaning Construction (the same company that built DesBox), began at the end of November 2022, with Mr Lisowski also claiming that ‘heavy piledrivers’ were being used at six o’clock in the morning.
A crack in the ceiling appeared after the works began (Image: NA)

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UK law states that noisy work can only be done between eight and six on weekdays, and from nine to one on Saturdays.

The cracks appeared on the brick work (Image: NA)

No work of that kind can be done on Sundays or Bank Holidays unless it’s deemed to be an emergency.

He told the Free Press: “We were told via a postal letter last year that the works were going to be done, but I came home from work one day to find cracks in my ceiling.

“This was not long after they started.

One of the major cracks that have appeared on the property in High Wycombe (Image: NA)

“Next thing we know, our house started to shake because of the drilling and more cracks were appearing.

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“I’ve lived in this house since August 2007 and this building itself is 49 years old.

“In that time, I’ve never had any major problems other than three cracks.

“I’ve also had it redecorated.

“But since November, we’ve had more issues and I feel as if we’ve been shafted by Red Kite.

The house is 49-years-old (Image: NA)

“We’ve asked for help and were given lots of promises, but we’re in limbo as nothing seems to be getting done to fix the problems caused by them.”

However, Red Kite has claimed that they offered a decorator to amend minor cosmetic damage ‘free of charge’ to those impacted, only for no residents to take up the suggestion.

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The housing association also stated that they are ‘committed to working with the community’ to resolve any issues.

Sharon Whitehouse, Communications Manager at Red Kite Community Housing, said:

“We apologise for the inconvenience and concern caused to nearby residents by the piling works completed in November.

“Following reports of alleged damage to some nearby properties (approximately 20 metres away), we appointed a structural engineer to assess the situation.

“The structural engineer assessed the minor cosmetic cracking but was unable to confirm whether this was historic or not.

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“The good news was that there was confirmation that there was no structural damage to any of the properties.

“New Meaning Construction offered to make a decorator available, free of charge to address any minor cosmetic damage that residents thought may have resulted from piling.

“However, none of the residents took up this offer.

“We have provided the engineer's report to the residents and have advised them to contact their home insurance providers if they think there is an issue.

“We are also happy to liaise with any experts they wish to involve.

“We are committed to working with the community to resolve any concerns and ensure that our construction activities do not cause any disruption or inconvenience to nearby residents.”