At an ongoing trial a property owner told the court how she was “horrified” at the pathetically poor quality of work carried out on her behalf., through a 20k grant.

 She naturally took for granted that all work would be “fit for purpose” because a council worker had told her that it would be carried out properly.

 

The Council worker and builder both denied that they had conspired to defraud three landlords and North East Lincolnshire council, between April 2006 and December 2008.

The prosecution accused the council worker and builder at Grimsby Crown Court, that they had formed an agreement to con the local authority, landlords and taxpayers as they were “greedy”.

The council worker was in charge of the Empty Homes Grant at North East Lincolnshire, and was responsible for distributing thousands of pounds of public money between 2006 and 2008.

 

The “partnership” between the builder and council worker is accused of “ripping off” three landlords with properties across Cleethorpes and Grimsby.

The grant funding would be received by the builder to renovate empty properties, but his work for the landlords was of such poor quality and at times not even finished.

The prospective landlord told the court that she bought a house that had already been converted into flats so that she could rent them out.

The builder helped her with the arrangements to secure a  £20,000 grant from the council to upgrade the flats and that they would also provide her with tenants for up to five years.

She eventually found out that the work had not been carried out as intended and that the builder stopped taking her calls.

She is claiming that the council worker in his position as the grants officer in the council, had reassured her in a telephone conversation that "everything had been done properly". He also told her that the grant would only be given to the builder if the work had been completed to a good standard, as he was personally following the progress.

She believed that the flats were ready to be rented out but tenants did not appear, so she decided to sell the property.

When she received the pictures of the “work that was supposedly carried out in the property from the estate agents she said that: "I was horrified at the pictures,

"The work they were supposed to do could not have been £20,000 of work in the property. It was obvious that the money wasn't spent in the property."

The trial is ongoing at time of press.