An elderly woman recovering from cancer has shared her frustration at facing winter without the heating upgrade she was promised months ago.

Doreen Goodchild, who is 84 and lives in Hockering near Dereham, had applied for a grant through the government-funded Norfolk Warm Homes scheme in March.

She received approval for the grant on August 15. The works had been due to take place in early September but have still not been carried out.

The scheme is being led by Broadland District Council (BDC), who said it had discovered that the contractor they were using did not have the correct certification, known as PAS 2030:19, to carry out a replacement of Ms Goodchild’s storage radiators.


The contractor could not go ahead with the works to Ms Goodchild’s home without the documentation.

Ms Goodchild, who underwent surgery for breast cancer on Monday, October 17, said she was disappointed to return from hospital to a cold house.

BDC has supplied Ms Goodchild with two oil-filled radiators as a temporary solution, and said it had been looking for an alternative, certified installer to carry out the work.

And while Ms Goodchild said the oil-filled radiators were a help, she is worried she will still be cold until the upgrade is done.

“I sit with three hot water bottles - one either side of me and one on my lap," she said.

“When they cool down, I pour the water back into the kettle because I’m trying to keep my water bill down.”

She said her existing radiators didn’t work properly.

She explained: “The storage heaters are old. The dials don’t work. They don’t have thermometers, and there’s no pre-set function.”

An alternative installer is now understood to have been found and is set to conduct a new survey of Ms Goodchild's home in the coming days.

A council spokesman said the authority has “urged that they [the certified installer] come back as soon as possible with a timeframe for installation”.

He added: “The council’s support officer will remain in regular contact to keep Mrs Goodchild updated how things are progressing.”