South Lanarkshire Council respond to over 1600 call-outs as cold weather presents challenges for households

dailyrecord.co.uk:

South Lanarkshire Council have responded to thousands of call-outs due to the recent cold weather problems.With temperatures reaching below zero, challenges have been presented for households across the region.The council’s Housing and Repairs service are dealing with over 1600 emergency repairs due to the extreme spell of cold weather that has recently resulted in loss of heating and burst pipes for some households.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android At the moment, 17 households are decanted, 45 have been accommodated in hotels and others are staying with family or friends.The executive director of housing and technical resources, Stephen Gibson, said: “We understand the frustration being experienced by tenants and the distress the severe weather damage is causing.“In response we are working hard to ensure that in the first instance people are safe.“While we will endeavour to contact tenants by phone and text in advance to arrange access for inspections and/or to carry out repairs, there will be instances where we simply call at a house when an operative is already working in the area.”Teams are working hard to deal with the high number of problems and extra arrangements have been put in place to ensure issues are resolved fast.Staff have been redirected from non-urgent programmes to help support