Members of community union Acorn Southend, have stepped in to support 79-year-old Gillian Humphries as building inspectors ordered for her wooden balcony to be locked in 2018.
The decision has left Ms Humphries without fresh air as she suffers from a chronic obstructive airways disease.
A spokesman for Acorn Southend said: “After several years of investigation, cladding risks were also discovered and warned against at the start of 2021.
“Gillian suffers from severe COPD, a respiratory condition that makes breathing difficult and requires regular air circulation.
“Due to structural issues, her balcony has been locked from the outside, including the window, which has made this summer extra hard to cope with.”
In 2018, Ms Humphries chair had fallen through the decking on her balcony, exposing a very bad case of dry rot in the structure.
Acorn protestors visited managing agent Scott and Stapleton earlier this month in Leigh Broadway and went to the site again to protest.
Ms Humphries daughter Laura Angell and other tenants say developer Norman Powell have not properly fixed the issues, including the exterior cladding that must be replaced over safety concerns.
Ms Angell said: “Myself and my mum went with Acorn to the Scott and Stapleton office.
“We hope to finally get a commitment on paper in real terms of getting all works done within 12 months and to reimburse my mum for paying twice to get the floor fixed by someone Scott and Stapleton recommended, only for it cave in again.”
Tim Scott, managing director of Scott and Stapleton previously responded to the concerns raised by Acorn Southend and Ms Humphries family.
He said: “We are aware of a group of people visiting our office last weekend when our block management department was closed and we were therefore unable to assist them.
“Access to the balcony remains removed but an alteration has now been made, at the direction of building control and the door to the balcony now has a restricted ability to open for ventilation purposes.”
“The balcony remains unsafe and access to it is still restricted as demanded in the notice served by the local authority. The landlord continues to explore solutions in what is a difficult situation.”
Mr Powell, owner of NR Powell Developments, has blamed the problems on plants being watered and says plans to rectify the balconies will be shared soon.
