Elderly Grangemouth couple feel let down by Falkirk Council's handling of flood and fence woes

Last year the Grangemouth couple, John Berry, 80, and Mary Rutherford, 78, had been away visiting their son and upon their return they found their Bowhouse Road flat flooded out due to a leak coming from the premises above.

The couple’s son Iain Torrance said: “Their house was swimming in water. A blockage from an outside pipe caused water to pour in from the upstairs flat down into their flat.

"Falkirk Council came out to repair the issue, completed the repair and then left. However, within 24 hours the flat was flooded a second time. Another plumber arrived

on the scene and addressed the issue, stating the first plumber had not completed the repair properly in the first place as he did not use rods to unblock the pipe."

That was bad enough, but fast forward four months to February 2024 and the couple found out their claim for damages had been thrown out by the council.

Iain said: "My parents went through the claim process to have their damages covered for decoration and loss of goods. The insurance company acting on behalf of Falkirk Council rejected the claim, stating the council acted properly and arranged rods and came back three days later to unblocked the pipe, so they were not liable.”

The flooding was just one issue which angered the couple and led them to believe they were being treated unfairly by the council.

Last year the premises underwent roughcasting work and the contractors were not exactly the most careful bunch.

"The contractor took my parent’s fence and gate down,” said Iain. “And after they completed the works they left the lawn in a dreadful state, which my elderly parents and other residents had to repair themselves.

“Their gate was nowhere to be seen, and the fence was not put back up properly. Their housing officer told them they would have to pay for the damages themselves as the council would not do the repairs due to fact the contractor that had carried out the work having subsequently gone bust.

“The housing officer advised them to get housing insurance.”

A Falkirk Council spokesman said: “We do not recognise many of the points raised, having had very little in the way of formal contact from the family. Following the completion of repairs due to flooding previously, proper advice was provided in relation to claiming this back.

"This could be done via their own contents insurance, or, where there is a belief that the damage was caused by negligence on the part of Falkirk Council, a public liability claim could be submitted.

"This has been dismissed by an independent claims handler working on behalf of Falkirk Council, which does not provide cover for contents or decoration. Within our tenancy agreements we proactively encourage tenants to arrange cover.

“Our external fabrics team have confirmed they were not made aware of issues with the fence or gate. Notwithstanding this, the team will liaise with the housing office and the family to discuss potential solutions.”