Disabled resident shocking home retrofit scheme in Cornwall

Gary Cocks, who lives on Oakfield Road in Falmouth, has told The Packet of the 'unacceptable' standard of workmanship he now has to live with after a council-led retrofit of his home and how the 'shocking' work has affected him.

Having been referred for disabled adaptation improvements to take place on his home by Cornwall Council's Adult Care and Support Team, Gary signed up for the work to take place in October of 2021.

The work which has already been done to Gary's home which he describes as 'unacceptable' (Image: Ryan Morwood)

However, after delays around when work on the inside of the house could begin due to works occurring on the outside, Gary says the quality of the work that has taken place on his home is 'unacceptable.'

Gary told The Packet: "I'm at the end of my tether.

"I was told that I'd be one of the last, but that's not the issue here.

"The substandard work that has happened is shocking, to say the least.

Gary's back door wasn't fitted properly (Image: Ryan Morwood)

"The scaffolding went up in February, and I think it was up for about five and a half months which is unacceptable, and it was a health issue for me because of my disability.

"I’m not a special case, but having said that, when this house was started, it should have been listed as disabled.

"The door that was fitted originally was the wrong size for my disability so they had to take that back out, which should have been done two months ago.

Gary has described the work as 'substandard' (Image: Ryan Morwood)

"A lot of these things are basic mistakes.

"It’s been a tough eight months I can tell you."

Gary went on to explain how the retrofit work had affected his home life and that he and his wife, who is his primary carer, would not have signed up for the scheme had they known how things would unfold.

Cornwall Council told The Packet they couldn't comment on individual cases (Image: Ryan Morwood)

Gary continued: "Had we had an insight into how it would turn out, I would have refused it.

"I regret signing up for it, it’s been a nightmare in my life and my wife’s life.

"They said two and a half months, and okay, things happen in life, mistakes, this that and the other, but it’s now November, nine months on."

Gary explained he also felt the liaison team working for Cornwall Council were out of their depth and that, despite always being ‘lovely,’ were not able to provide him with any answers as to what would be happening or when.

Gary told The Packet he regrets signing up for the scheme (Image: Ryan Morwood)

Gary said: "You can’t blame them, you can only blame the people above them.

"I’m grateful for what the council has done but what’s happened has overshadowed that somewhat.

"I think one of the fundamental reasons as to why this project went so wrong is that there’s no communication anywhere."

The work was done as part of a Cornwall Council whole house retrofit scheme

The Packet contacted Cornwall Council with regards to Gary’s case and were told by a spokesperson: "We have paused retrofitting 42 properties in Falmouth while we carry out inspections on the work that has been completed so far.

"Work is due to restart later this month and we will be contacting all residents to let them know of the timing.

"We apologise for the delay.

"We are working with individual tenants to resolve specific issues as soon as possible.

"We cannot comment on individual cases."