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00:00You might not think twice about a dropped kerb, but for Michael Partridge and Strood, it's become a daily battle.
00:07His emphysema means he relies on an oxygen tank, and he struggles to walk more than a few steps.
00:14He's lived in this home for more than 40 years now, and in 2021, MHS Holmes, who owns the property,
00:21agreed to install a wet room and a driveway, all completed, but the dropped kerb never came.
00:30Yeah, they come up to sign up the jobs off, and twice they come up for that, and they was from Medway Housing,
00:37they was from the council, they was from the contractors, you know, and each time they'd turn and say,
00:43oh, we see your dropped kerb ain't done yet, we'll have to get on to them about that.
00:48That's it, nothing.
00:49How do you feel about all of this?
00:52I always do my heading, and it's coming up four years this year,
00:56so I've been banging my head against the wall, you know, I've been contacting people,
01:04my daughter has four, I mean, even my next-door neighbour has, but I just don't seem to get anywhere.
01:10Because MHS own the property, Michael can't arrange for work himself.
01:14And did you know it's technically illegal to drive over a kerb which isn't dropped?
01:21That's exactly what Michael's been having to do for the past four years.
01:25They've promised him it, they've put the hard standing in, but where's the dropped kerb?
01:30All they can do in that situation is they can make a complaint to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission,
01:39so they can ask them to investigate it.
01:41They can approach the ombudsman as well, the housing ombudsman,
01:44but the sanctions are very weak.
01:46It's actually easier and often cheaper for housing associations
01:50just to ignore any sanctions that are imposed or pay a fine.
01:54In a statement, the Housing Association told us,
01:58we understand Mr Partridge's frustration at the length of time for the kerb to be dropped.
02:04Unfortunately, it cannot happen until they have the relevant permission from Medway Council.
02:09They say they're working closely with the local authority
02:11to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
02:15I asked Medway Council for their response to that,
02:19and they said work to install the dropped kerb is due to take place next week,
02:23and they're investigating a delay in processing payment for the work.
02:28Do you think it will ever be sorted?
02:30No, to be honest, I don't.
02:33I don't think they bother anymore.
02:35They really don't.
02:37I think we'd be better off having all the houses belonging back to the council
02:41instead of the housing association.
02:43They looked after them, the council.
02:46Michael's heard promises before,
02:48and says he won't believe it until he sees it.
02:52Gabriel Morris, in Strude.