'Green insulation scheme has wrecked my home'

By Chris Clements

Social affairs correspondent, BBC Scotland

A home-owner said his flat has been ruined by black mould caused by a government “green” insulation scheme.

Blaan Paterson is in dispute with his local council over his claim that cavity wall insulation has led to nearly a decade of damp conditions.

He has spent £4,000 on reports that suggest a mix of rock wool and polystyrene insulation – and a botched removal – have caused persistent damp.

South Lanarkshire Council said the work was carried out by contractors.

And an industry body said mould spores evident throughout Mr Paterson’s flat were “unrelated” to insulation.

The insulation was installed at Mr Paterson’s property in East Kilbride after it was given the go-ahead by the council as part of a Scottish government scheme around 12 years ago.

BBC Scotland has spoken with more than a dozen other residents in his neighbourhood complaining of similar problems after the scheme launched.

The Scottish government said it was sorry to hear about the concerns but added any issues should be addressed by factors “as soon as possible”.

Mr Paterson, 48, said he could expect to spend a further £10,000 to take the case to court and the long dispute has “destroyed” his mental health.

“For eight years I’ve tried everything,”he said.

“You’re just left in a situation where you don’t know who to turn to. All this for work that I didn’t even agree to have carried out.

“This was a Scottish government scheme that has completely ruined my home. And there is no help anywhere to get it fixed.”

BBC Scotland visited Mr Paterson’s home, where he pointed out the peeling and blackened walls.

There was evidence of mould growth in his living room, kitchen and hall, as well as black spots over his blinds.

“It’s absolutely brutal,” he said. “I can’t keep furniture against the walls anymore because you just get mould everywhere.”

Mr Paterson has owned the flat since 2005 but said problems started after South Lanarkshire Council – which manages the building – signed him up to the Universal Home Insulation Scheme (UHIS) in 2011.

He insisted that he had not agreed to the work.

“It was not long afterwards that the black mould started appearing everywhere in the flat,” he said.

“It was in the skirting boards, the wallpaper, just everywhere. And within about a couple of years, the place was just decimated by black mould.”

The work was carried out by Carillion Energy Services – formerly Eaga. The firm, along with its parent company Carillion Plc, has since gone into liquidation.

Initial investigations by the Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency (CIGA) – an industry body that offers 25-year warranties on the work – recommended insulation be removed in 2016.

However, even after that work was completed, the mould continued to spread.

Mr Paterson said: “I’m seriously thinking about handing the keys back to the bank and being homeless. There is no point in living in conditions like this.”

CIGA confirmed Carillion had removed insulation at the property but found that it had previously been “extracted and retreated with a bead product [a second type of insulation]”.

It believes there was an “initial extraction carried out without our knowledge”.

Its statement continued: “We have subsequently inspected the property on more than one occasion and found nothing to suggest that any cavity wall insulation remains in the property.

“All issues, deterioration, and mould spore development within Mr Paterson’s property were initially and subsequently confirmed to be unrelated to the installation or extraction of cavity wall insulation.”

CIGA added that mould found in Mr Paterson’s hall was also unrelated to the insulation and that the agency was “unable to be of any further assistance in this matter”.

UHIS was launched by the Scottish government in 2011. Millions of pounds were spent by local authorities “retrofitting” older homes with cavity wall insulation.

In South Lanarkshire, more than 9,000 homes – mainly in East Kilbride – were involved in the scheme.

BBC Scotland visited Mr Paterson’s neighbourhood of Calderwood, including blocks at Waverley and Durward.

We went to 15 properties in the area where owners complained of persistent damp and mould in flats built in the 1960s.

It is understood that in almost all cases, cavity wall insulation had been installed under the government scheme by Carillion. The majority of residents who spoke to the BBC said their problems started after insulation was installed in 2011.

CIGA said it had not received any complaints from a list of addresses provided by the BBC.

A 2015 inspection carried out by the council at one of the properties blamed condensation as the root cause.

The inspection recommended “dehumidifiers installed throughout the property for a period of time” but the damp conditions have continued for a further eight years.

Meanwhile, John Keenan, 48, said he has been in a long-running dispute over damp at his property, which he also claims was caused by the insulation.

When BBC Scotland visited his home in Abercromby Place, Mr Keenan revealed black mould behind peeling wallpaper and evidence of damp in nearly every room.

He also claimed some walls showed evidence of mould growth, despite being treated with anti-fungal spray just a day earlier.

However, CIGA told BBC Scotland the problem was a “lifestyle condensation issue”.

Carillion’s liquidators PwC said it could not comment on the cases.

Tom Woolley, a semi-retired professor of architecture, has been highlighting “cavity wall insulation disasters” for a number of years.

He has also advised pressure group Cavity Insulation Victims’ Alliance (CIVALLI), which has given evidence at the UK Parliament and Welsh Assembly.

He told BBC Scotland: “The problem with filling up the cavity either with glass fibre and perhaps, to a lesser extent, polystyrene is that it stops the building ‘breathing’.

“Vapour collecting in the building or dampness that gets into the walls can’t escape because it’s blocked up by this stuff.

“It tends to lead to dampness and mould inside the houses. We have plenty of evidence of this. I would say there are hundreds of thousands of examples of this throughout the UK.”

Stephen Gibson, South Lanarkshire Council’s executive director of housing and technical resources, said the local authority had “every sympathy for anyone who has been affected”.

He added: “The contractors’ work is covered by a 25-year guarantee through the Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency (CIGA).

“Anyone with concerns regarding the works carried out should take this up through CIGA.”

A Scottish government spokeswoman said: “We are sorry to learn about the problems the homeowners are having.

“We would expect that the factor for these properties will identify how best to remedy this as soon as possible.

“If they have identified these issues as arising from the installation of cavity wall insulation, we would expect these to be taken up with the Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency.”

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