A group of Garston residents are “heart-broken” after plans were announced to knock down and rebuild the bungalows on Kytes Drive.
The estate was built to house ex-servicemen after the Second World War and today is home to a number of retired people with disabilities.
One resident said: “I’ve lived here for 40 years. My wife is blind and in a wheelchair, and this bungalow is set up for her needs. Anywhere else and she would be completely lost.
“Another lady has been here 53 years and was in floods of tears at the meeting. It has upset her beyond belief.
“We haven’t been told what will happen to us. All we were told is that if we moved, we would be offered a space back on the site first. We have no idea when or where they would start – absolutely nothing.
“People must have known this for a long time, and we can tell because they’ve left us hanging with repairs. I complained about mildew in one of our bedrooms and the surveyor was appalling. They said they’d get it cleared but it’s been three weeks and nothing. They’re holding on to their money as it’s going to get knocked down.
“I’m not very well myself. I’ve had bowel cancer and a second blocked kidney and I’m a 24/7 carer for my wife – we can’t move out and then back in again twice. It’s going to be a killer; we just can’t do it.”
Another resident said: “We are heart-broken. We have been on Kytes Drive for 53 years. We lost our daughter in December to cancer. There are so many things that she has done which will be knocked down.”
An anonymous resident said: “The recent regeneration plans are ambiguous and worrying for residents and their families.
“There is great concern that full consideration of the complexities faced when rehousing those with disabilities, along with the appreciation of why Kytes Estate was established originally, has been disregarded.”
Emma Martin, operations manager at Kytes Drive, said: “The safety and wellbeing of our residents is our top priority. We’ve started to carry out full and detailed assessments of the estate and in order to provide modern, sustainable and fit-for-purpose homes for our residents, it is necessary to consider proposals to regenerate the site to ensure we continue to provide high-quality, suitable homes for our residents.
“We’ve met with residents to discuss our intention to start exploring the regeneration of the Kytes estate and will continue to work closely with them to receive their input, ensure they are updated throughout and to make the process as smooth as possible. We appreciate this is an unsettling and upsetting time for residents and the health, safety and wellbeing of our residents is paramount.
“It’s likely any proposal will involve knocking down existing areas on the estate, including the existing bungalows. Our proposed plans will be driven by the need to keep as many residents as possible in their existing homes until new homes are built, through a phased-build programme. While we do not have full details at this early stage in the planning process, we do expect there will be some residents that will need to move into alternative accommodation before any work begins.
“Those residents will have the right to return to the development once it is complete. We will work closely with all residents and their families to ensure that the process for identifying and moving to suitable alternative accommodation if required, is as smooth as possible and takes individual needs into consideration.”
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