Sheffield housing: Council 'urgently assessing' properties after roofing torn off again during Storm Jocelyn

Sheffield Council says it is 'urgently assessing' properties after roofing was torn off a housing block for the second time in a month.

High winds during Storm Jocelyn brought a large section of the roof at a row of maisonettes on Haslam Crescent, Lowedges, crashing down in the early hours of Wednesday, January 24.

Kerrie Ibbotson told The Star how she had woken that morning to find the roofing in her garden, along with part of the chimney. Her children's swing and outdoor toys were broken and her garden table was smashed, she said.

It's just lucky it didn't happen when my children were playing in the garden'

"If it had happened during the day my children might have been playing in the garden and the roofing would have come down on top of them," she added.

"It's just lucky it didn't happen later in the day. I'm baffled as to how this could happen again, only a month after the last time," she added.

"Why do I pay £400 a month to live here when they haven't fixed the roofing and you feel you can't leave your house without worrying the roof's going to fall on you."

The Star reported back in December how part of the roof at the same block had come down during Storm Pia, after which residents were assured the property would be made safe.

At the time, the council said a full assessment of the roof would be undertaken and tenants would be informed when replacement works were due to begin.

What has Sheffield Council said about the damage to the housing?

Following the further storm damage this week, Councillor Douglas Johnson, chair of the Housing Committee at Sheffield City Council, said: "We can confirm that yesterday morning during the high winds experienced across the city, damage was found to have occurred to the roof of a property on Haslam Crescent in Lowedges.

"Colleagues from our Repairs and Housing teams attended the site to assess the damage. As part of this, they communicated with tenants directly and supported those who needed our help. This is continuing today with further safety checks and discussions with tenants.

"Our assessment found the damage occurred to the remaining section of the roof that was previously damaged in last month’s (December 2023) strong winds. This was not a new property affected. I appreciate this news will still be a concern to the community.

"We are still in the process of urgently assessing similar properties in the area to check for any further damage. We are not aware of any other incidents of this nature occurring before or after last month's incident on Haslam Crescent to any of our other properties of this type."