Calne residents trapped indoors for 13 weeks due to broken lift

Vera Tolley lives on the top floor of The Wharf. Credit: ITV

Residents at a retirement complex in Wiltshire say they have been trapped indoors for 13 weeks because the building's lift is out of service.

People living on the upper floors at The Wharf in Calne town centre say not being able to get out and about has limited their social lives, disrupted medical appointments and left them feeling isolated.

Vera Tolley, who is in her eighties and lives on the third floor, said she and her fellow residents were frustrated by the amount of time it has taken to fix the problem, and the number of activities and outings they have missed since January.

Speaking to ITV News, she said: “We sort of feel that it’s part of our lives gone.

"We’re all elderly. We’re all between 80 and 90-odd. And you can’t get that back - what we’ve missed.”

Green Square Accord, the management company that owns and runs The Wharf, says it took the decision to take the lift out of service due to frequent power cuts in the building.

The organisation said there was a risk that someone could get trapped in the lift as a result.

The residents say the broken lift has left them completely isolated.

A spokesperson for Green Square Accord said: "We can confirm the lift at The Wharf in Calne has unfortunately been out of service for several weeks.

"This is because of a fault with the power supply in the local area which has been identified as an issue for electrical energy supplier SSEN to rectify."

The management company says its staff have been offering extra support to residents and organising social gatherings on landings to help them feel less isolated.

The local electricity supplier, SSEN, said that it had put a temporary solution in place, and that consequently there had not been a power cut at The Wharf since 11 April.

In a statement, SEEN Distribution said: "We’re working right now to diagnose and fix the fault causing the issue with the supply in part of this property.

"As this fault is underground, it takes time do this safely. While we do this, we’ve reconfigured the local network to provide a safe, reliable supply to the property."

Since ITV News spoke to residents at The Wharf, they have been told in writing by Green Square Accord that the power supply to the lift is now being retested and that the company hopes it will be back in service by Saturday 11 May.