Since the recent storm that hit areas of Tameside, we have worked to provide as much support as possible to all of our residents who were impacted by this shocking and extreme weather incident.
Shortly after Storm Gerrit swept through parts of the region, on Wednesday 27 December 2023, we had officers on the scene, carrying out surveys and gathering information.
The following morning (Thursday 28 December) we visited the main estates, assessing what damage had been caused, in the light of day. The worst hit homes were those in the Carrbrook area of Stalybridge, with around 40 of our homes affected.
We spoke to affected residents immediately to establish what support was required and offered to arrange temporary accommodation to the two families whose homes had suffered the greatest damage. One family have since been able to move back into their home.
Residents in the surrounding areas were also contacted and urged to report any repairs needed via our emergency repairs line.
Specialist scaffolding, roofing, property maintenance contractors and tree surgeons were called and arrived the same morning in support of the clean up in the area, which was by then declared as a major incident.
Major damage to roofs and chimneys initially covered around 20 properties. These were all assessed and scaffolding was erected to make sure they were safe within 48 hours of the initial visits.
Jigsaw’s call out technicians assisted in visiting properties over the first three days after the storm, alongside gas technicians who supported requests to isolate gas fires due to chimney stack damage.
In the first three days, our customer contact team reported more than 80 emergencies including roof, chimney and fence damage, which were prioritised in order of urgency.
Before New Year, we completed property repairs and erected scaffolding to 18 homes – 10 with chimney damage and eight with major roof damage – with contractors and Jigsaw’s on-call technicians working right across this period into the New Year.
Damage to fences and trees was also assessed and several properties were found to be damaged by falling trees. These were quickly removed so scaffolding could be erected and repairs could be carried out.
Our roofing team was joined by other roofers from across the Group to assist, so we can carry out as many repairs as possible.
Since New Year, a further 27 properties have been identified as needing scaffolding.
We are prioritising work to homes with major roof or structural damage first, followed by other homes with more minor damage. Damage to fences will be dealt with after these.
Please bear with us while we work through these repairs and the significant amount of work that this involves.
