A local MP finally got to visit a home with a lift that had been out of action for so long, he felt compelled to raise the case in Parliament.
King George’s Court, on Eastwood Road in Rayleigh, which is a four-storey independent-living complex, suffered multiple breakdowns of its lift over a period of nearly a year, causing misery for residents, (one of whom even had to be carried down the stairs into an ambulance, because the lift was repeatedly out of action.)
After complaining to the management company, Firstport, on several occasions, Mark then raised the case in the Commons, to spur the sluggish company into action.
Mark subsequently visited King George’s Court, accompanied by local Councillor, Cheryl Roe, in order to Chair a specially convened meeting, at which the Chief Executive of Firstport, Ms Gael Drummond, which runs around 1,500 similar complexes across the UK, apologised to residents, in person, for the repeated inconvenience.
Commenting on the whole saga, Mark said:
“It comes to something when an MP has to raise a broken lift in Parliament but, after it had been out of action for over eight months, it became the only way to spur Firstport into action. The lift has thankfully now been repaired but I think Firstport might be better to eventually install a brand new one, to save us having to go through the ups and downs of this all over again in the future!”
