Sharon Moore writes about the upheaval and mixed emotions surrounding Southern Housing’s sudden demolition announcement.
Four courts or not Four Courts? That is apparently not the question. Imagine our surprise when, Tuesday 18 February, with no prior notice or consultation, everyone in Bevin Court had a pamphlet pushed through the door telling us, they – at Southern Housing – had decided to knock down all the Four Courts – our home.
My family have only been here a year. We used up most of our savings to buy flooring and blinds for our sitting room. I have to ask myself, did they know when they moved us in that they would be knocking it all down? We certainly would not have paid as much for flooring as we did if we knew the place was going to be demolished.
We live on the first floor but I can see how difficult it must be for those reliant on the lifts, only one for even number floors and another for odds. Last year, I looked out our window and watched a fire engine raise its cherry picker as high as it could to pick someone up via some other tenant’s balcony to bring them down to the awaiting ambulance. I found out that since the lifts had been ‘improved’ in 2010, they shrank to half their previous size. This means someone who has had a stroke or heart attack – who lives higher than the height a cherry picker can reach – has to be carried down the stairs on a stretcher because a patient who is suffering from a stroke or heart attack cannot be sat up.
Our staircase is a fairly narrow one. Far too narrow for 80 odd people to be trying to leave in case of a fire. We have quite severely disabled people living on the 16th floor, which has to be a concern, considering the lifts do not work in a fire.
After a meeting, a few months ago, I questioned a Southern Housing (SH) representative on the indignity of this situation. He told me that in the refurbishment work in 2010 they had to make the lifts smaller because the new safety laws meant they needed the space for more equipment. This information was not offered without me having to push for it. However, now, I notice it is given as one of the reasons they deem these buildings no longer fit for purpose.
From the Tuesday when the demolition was announced to the following Friday, the two representatives who will be in charge of finding each one of us alternative housing were present in our communal room. I asked them the question most of us are concerned about – how will they be able to house us when Hastings council are on their knees trying to deal with the many homeless people they have on their books? Many of these are actually in emergency temporary housing, for which the council are paying.
They told me Southern Housing will hold all their properties for us in Bevin court. This, they think, will take one year. Next they will rehouse tenants from Roosevelt court, which will take another year, then on to Kennedy, then Churchill. As of today, 1 April, I have heard that six different homes have been found for some tenants already. I presume this means all the tenants have been interviewed, as we were told no one would be housed until all interviews have taken place.
There are differing views about the destruction of these tower blocks. One of my neighbours is in her 80s and she has been extremely upset, as when she first moved in here her husband was still with her. Unfortunately, he died a couple of years ago, which means her last connection with him is being severed. She is an extremely vibrant person, who has family to help her and who pop in most days. She has also become very good friends with another neighbour who walks her dog and helps her enormously. She has asked that they be moved at the same time, close to each other.
Many of us are pleased to actually have a choice now – something we did not have when we moved in here. Because of the severe lack of housing, starting from the Thatcher era, choice and social housing are no longer on the same page. If you are homeless then once the council has offered you a home, a letter is sent informing you that the council’s duty of care has been fulfilled from their end, so you will not get another choice.
One thing many of us will not miss is the extortionate service charge which we all pay, although some of the services appear to be missing. SH have now reduced some charges but we are yet to hear if there will be any rebate offered for the shortfalls.
One positive step about living in a Southern Housing home has been the start up of HASHTA – the Hastings Area Southern Housing Tenants Association. Many of us are grateful for the time many of the members have put into this group, which has given us a real feeling of community. It gave some a voice where they, at times, did not feel they had one. I was very disappointed when Southern Housing recently told a member of HASHTA that they no longer recognised HASHTA because they ‘have been infiltrated by the left’. I found this an incredibly lazy excuse and, quite frankly, I get fed up with these cliches used by people when trying to denigrate something that makes them feel uncomfortable. I would also like to remind them that it was ‘the left’ who brought in social housing and our wonderful NHS, and unions who won better working practices.
In the last few weeks SH has started working on our block to remove damaged cladding. None of the tenants I have spoken to can comprehend why SH are interrupting our lives with this now. Why don’t they wait until we have all left? Even one of the scaffolders thinks that it does not make sense putting up light-blocking scaffolding and constant loud noise from 8am until 4pm every week day.
Ultimately, many of us want to move elsewhere, despite the rather clumsy way SH have gone about it. And the staff seem genuinely interested in helping us find what we are looking for.