Disabled Lancaster mum faces months of being ‘a prisoner in her own home’ after lift breaks down

Mum-of-three Julie lives in Millennium Heights in Lune Street, where there is currently a broken lift which the management company say could take months to fix due to protocol.

Her daughter Kim Jenkinson has now set up an online fundraiser in a desperate bid to raise the money needed for maintenance staff to help her from the building for a day out.

Wheelchair user Julie, 61, was diagnosed with primary progressive Multiple Sclerosis in her mid 30s.

"Although life has thrown obstacles at her she has always tried to keep her inner strength and smile through it," Kim said.

"After being widowed and losing her own mum, she moved to this more accessible place to get back doing the things she loves the most - feeling free and doing things for herself.

"In her apartment now she is able to cook herself and has an accessible bathroom; these things were only a dream for many years.

"Yet now the lift in her apartment building is broken, with a £14,000 repair bill and a timeframe of 3-4 months due to management company rules.

"Her world is crumbling apart. Every day her motivation is leaving her and her mood is dropping, affecting her mentally.

"The lack of physical movement and activity seems to be making her MS symptoms worse.

"We can't bear to watch our mum fade this way - she's the strongest woman we know.

"We're desperately trying to raise money to pay the lift management company to manually let her out in the meantime - the cost is £360 per afternoon out," Kim said.

"So if you can, please donate anything at all to help her get out as many times as possible during this horrible time."

You can support Julie online at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Disabled-lady-trapped

David Bentham, managing director of Homestead Consultancy Services Ltd, who manage the block, said a meeting is being held next week with leaseholders to discuss the issue.

The age of the lift means the parts are now obsolete and modernisation is needed.

As a result, a consultation process has to be followed to inform and engage all the owners, who also jointly own the freehold of the building.

Alternative ways to allow leaseholders with disabilities to exit and enter the building have been looked at, including the possibility of a temporary ‘overhaul’ of the lifting equipment to try to bring back a limited service.

"We are in contact with owners and occupiers via written communication, email and telephone calls on a frequent basis," Mr Bentham said.

"The legal processes being followed isn’t conducive to fast repair, but has to be followed to comply with the relevant Acts of Parliament.

"We have spoken with the insurer to see if the resident on the top floor can be rehoused to no avail.

"We have spoken with Lancaster City Council Social Care Team who have conducted the necessary checks and acknowledge that the steps we have taken to date demonstrate we are dealing with the matter as urgently and efficiently as possible."

Mr Bentham said the fire service has also been informed and their firefighting policy for the building remains unchanged.

"The householders and flat owners in the buildings have been through the financial mill over recent years because of the fallout from Grenfell," he added.

"The building has been subject to an exacting and expensive regime dictated by the Building Safety Act to ensure the safety of the residents and this processes has been managed by Homestead on behalf of all the owners at Millennium Heights in very close liaison with Lancashire Fire and Rescue and the bill has been met by the individual householders during a period of financial uncertainty and spiralling costs.

"The buildings are now tantalisingly close to being fully compliant. We are close to the end of the tunnel, issues we have successfully addressed, include, raising grants, cladding investigation, fire alarms, sprinkler system, wall surveys, Fire Risk Assessments, fire policies and only smoke ventilation requirements remain to be completed.

"I say only, these works will cost many thousands of pounds, in addition to the many thousands of pounds already spent. In a strange way this is quite a success story and the owners and Homestead deserve a great deal of credit for their can-do attitude and fortitude.

"The individual homeowners, having used their hard earned reserves and more to ensure that they can still live in their own homes, through no fault of their own, had hoped against hope that further major expense could be avoided in the short term.

"They now find themselves having to raise close to £1,000 each following the lift failure and in climate of continuing inflation and financial difficulties. The owners are nevertheless in the process of doing this."