Portsmouth City Council is pleased to say that the final few households at Sarah Robinson House have returned to their flats.
Council staff worked from Friday 15 September and over the weekend to support the majority of residents to return to their homes. This included providing help with the hygienic disposal of food waste and offering wellbeing support to returning residents.
SGN has now repaired the damaged riser and gas supply has been returned to the 20 flats that continued to be without supply. This work has been carried out more quickly than expected, with affected residents told they have gas supply in their flats on the afternoon of Wednesday 20 September.
The update from SGN reads: “We’re pleased that all affected residents of Sarah Robinson House were able to return home from Friday last week (15 September) with the support of Portsmouth City Council.
“We’ve been working to repair our riser service pipe, which supplied 20 properties in the building. Gas supplies to these properties remained off whilst our emergency work was carried out.
“This work is now complete, and gas is now available to all affected properties.
“Once again, we’d like to thank the local community for the overwhelming support and understanding we received whilst they were evacuated from their homes.”
SGN has provided each household with a food voucher to replace fridge and freezer food that had spoiled due to electricity being turned off in the building. All residents also received a letter from SGN explaining how they would receive additional compensation, and a leaflet from the council with useful contact numbers in case of need for further support.
Cllr Darren Sanders, Cabinet Member for Housing and Tackling Homelessness, said: “I’m so glad that everyone is now home and safe, after a difficult and emotional time for residents. Thank you to all our residents for your patience and understanding as we made sure Sarah Robinson House was safe for you to return to. Thank you also to all the agencies and volunteers involved in supporting council teams in this response.
“Residents safety is our priority. We will continue to undertake the regular checks to make sure all our buildings are safe and well maintained and that everyone feels secure in their home.”
If residents have any further concerns or questions they can call the Portsea housing team on 023 9260 6200.