Pipers Court: 'I've just been ignored and left with a broken window'

Why it matters: A resident of the 103-home Old Foundry Road block, who has asked to remain anonymous, says she reported a broken living room window handle on 20 March 2026. Nearly six months on, with the colder months approaching, it remains unrepaired.

The details: The resident reported the fault to the block's caretaker on 20 March. He attended, and told her the window would need replacing rather than repairing.

She says a window company was then meant to contact her directly to arrange the work, but never did. The caretaker subsequently told her he would order the parts himself.

Message exchanges shared with Ipswich.co.uk show the resident chasing for updates repeatedly over the following months, including on 23 and 25 March, 21 April, 5 and 18 May, and 3 and 17 June.

On 5 May, the caretaker asked whether she had heard from the window company; she said she had not. He said he would order the parts himself, and asked to come and measure the window.

On 1 June, he told her: "I'm just waiting for the part to turn up this morning I will message you." Later that day, he said delivery was expected "tomorrow morning."

The resident says the part never arrived. She later learned, through another resident rather than from Oak Housing, that the caretaker had left the company.

What they're saying: The resident emailed Oak Housing directly about the window on 24 July and 21 August.

"I've emailed about my window being fixed. It has been months and no one gets back to me," she wrote in one email. "It is going to get cold soon and the flats get freezing – I cant shut my window."

She received no response.

Contacting Ipswich.co.uk on 12 September, the resident explained to us that she has anxiety, which she said was part of the reason it had taken her time to get in touch with us following our ongoing reporting on conditions inside the block. "I've just been ignored and left with a broken window," she said.

Ipswich.co.uk put the full timeline to Oak Housing, including the specific dates above, and asked why the repair had not been completed, whether the caretaker was still employed by the company, and why the resident's July and August emails went unanswered. Oak Housing did not respond.

For context: This is the fourth time this year Ipswich.co.uk has reported on conditions at Pipers Court.

Our initial investigation in April into the block's service charges – which total £200,481.42 a year across the building, covering cleaning, staffing, maintenance and a range of other services – found black mould on windows, congealed blood on a light switch, and communal areas in a state of filth and disrepair. A June follow-up found bin chutes stacked with rubbish and flies throughout the building. Earlier this month, heavy rain caused significant flooding across multiple floors.

Leaking ceilings, flooded floors: the latest crisis at Pipers Court

Just two months after bin chutes overflowed in the sweltering summer heat, the halls of Pipers Court are now flooding, as heavy rain exposed fresh problems at the Ipswich block, with standing water reaching residents’ front doors.

Ipswich.co.ukNicola Sebastian

‘Soon there will be rats running the building’: Pipers Court two months on

When Ipswich.co.uk first visited Pipers Court in April, we found black mould, broken tiles, blood-stained lights and “cleaning in progress” signs lining the dirtiest corridors. Two months later, with fly-infested bin liners stacking up inside, frustrated residents tell us little has improved.

Ipswich.co.ukOliver Rouane-Williams

Black mould, blood stains and £200,000: Inside the Ipswich block questioning its service charges

When a resident raised concerns about service charges at Pipers Court, a 103-home apartment block on Old Foundry Road, we went to take a look. From the outside, it is not without a certain charm, but what lies beyond the entrance tells a very different story.

Ipswich.co.ukOliver Rouane-Williams

Residents interviewed by us describe a pattern of maintenance promises dating back to when Oak Housing took over the block in October 2018 that had gone unfulfilled, including a replacement bath that one resident said had sat in the building's office for four years. Responding at the time, Oak Housing's Senior Housing Officer, Rebecca Greenhalgh, said the company "takes all concerns raised by customers seriously" and "does not accept any suggestion that customer concerns are ignored." A claim that isn't backed up by evidence that we've seen.

The bottom line: Six months after it was first reported, the resident's window is still broken, and Oak Housing has not responded to questions about why. For a resident of a block already under scrutiny for its cleaning, waste and maintenance record, it is a wait that will feel familiar.

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