Boiler, 23, To Be Replaced At Bognor Sheltered Housing Block

Residents at a Bognor Regis sheltered housing scheme will finally have their 23-year-old boiler replaced ahead of the coming winter.

An extraordinary meeting of Arun District Council’s residential and wellbeing services committee was called on Thursday (August 19) to discuss a replacement boiler for Bersted Green Court residents.

The committee heard that the current boiler is around 23 years old and ‘can be unreliable’. Councillors were told that the issue is ‘urgent’ and ‘can not wait’ until the next committee meeting at the end of September.

This is because the sheltered housing scheme at Bersted Green Court houses 75 older people who were set to face the winter with an ‘unreliable’ boiler.

Additionally, the plant room where the boiler is located is lined with asbestos. This needs to be removed in the summer months and before any other work takes place.

Had the meeting not been called, residents may have been waiting until next summer for work to start.

Alison Cooper (Con, Rustington East) reminded the committee that “We need to do it for the residents.”

Pauline Gregory (Lib Dem, Rustington West) added:

“It’s about keeping the residents comfortable and making sure they are happy – particularly during the winter period.”

Both Joan English (Con, Pevensey) and Ms Gregory asked if residents will be disrupted by the works and the removal of asbestos respectively 

Council officers confirmed that most of the replacement work will take place in the ‘self-contained’ plant room. As a result, they said work ‘will not cause disruption on a daily basis’ and there ‘is no risk of contamination’ to residents.

A temporary arrangement for heating and hot water will be made whilst works are ongoing.

Committee chair Jacky Pendleton (Con, Middleton-on-Sea) said:

“Communication is key here and we need to keep the residents in tune with what is going on.”

Members voted unanimously to waive the normal tendering process for awarding council contracts. A report to the committee reassured members that using the existing contractor would deliver ‘value for money’ and allow a replacement boiler to be installed as soon as possible.

Although the new gas boiler will not be the most environmentally friendly option, officers said it will be ‘more energy efficient’ for heating the 1970’s building. A renewable heating system ‘would not be effective’ and ‘would cost more money’, according to officers.

Members agreed to transfer £150,000 from Bersted Green Court’s kitchen and bathroom budget to help pay for the works. Council officers said this would not affect the time scale of kitchen and bathroom improvements which are due to start in early 2022.

During the meeting, Gill Yeates (Lib Dem, Bersted) raised concerns about sheltered housing in her ward. Ms Pendleton said she had called for ‘a complete review of sheltered housing in Arun’ but added that this would take ‘quite some time’ to complete.