Elderly council tenants at Fern Lea Flats in Lindley are to protest against Kirklees Cabinet’s decision to remove age restrictions on who can apply to live in different properties across the borough.
With Councillor Cahal Burke, the tenants are planning to attend the meeting of Kirklees Cabinet on the 12 March to formally protest the decision and submit their petition signed by tenants of the flats.
In December 2012 the Council’s Labour Cabinet voted to remove the age designations on properties and move to an “open age policy”. This is scheduled to be implemented from April 2013.
Presently some council properties, such as the flats at Fern Lea have age restrictions in place. Fern Lea, for example, is limited to people over the age of 45, an arrangement that the tenants are keen to see maintained so they can continue to enjoy their peaceful and stable lives. The majority of tenants moved into Fern Lea when the age limitation was 60+ and the majority of residents are over that age with many suffering from health problems.
On a previous occasion when a young person was moved into flats similar to Fern Lea – also in the Lindley ward – it caused great disruption, problems and distress for the tenants. They are fearful of the same thing happening again. Families of the tenants were also greatly upset by the disruption caused from having a much younger tenant in the building. They saw the affect it had on the health and happiness of relatives who did not feel safe and content in their own homes.
The protestors are keen to make it clear that they not suggesting all young people are problematic or that young people shouldn’t have access to social housing, they just know that young and old have different ways of living and different expectations and that needs to be respected and understood when lettings are agreed by the council.
Cllr Cahal Burke who will be presenting the petition on behalf Fernlea tenants said:
“The residents of Fern Lea are absolutely right that some council properties should be retained for people in an older age bracket. Young people and older people have different ways of living their lives and a clash is often inevitable so it’s better to not put tenants through it in the first place. Tenants contacted me when there was a similar issue at Malham Court which became very upsetting for those involved. The tenants at Fern Lea want young people who need social housing to get that help but they need to be housed in the appropriate settings and not where existing older residents would be made to feel unsafe and unhappy in their homes. I am seeking talks with officers to ensure that flats like Fern Lea and their residents will be protected from this policy change as I have seen first hand how mixing age groups in a communal setting can lead to problems for all involved. It would make more sense for the policy to not apply to settings such as Fern Lea”
Ms Pat Downing (Chair of Fernlea TRA) said:
“The tenants of the flats are all really upset at changes the council are planning. We don’t have any grudge against the young people getting housing but the council has to understand that we will have different ways of living our lives. The tenants are all happy and the council shouldn’t spoil something that works well. We hope that council will listen to our concerns. The change will have a big impact on the flats and our lives.”
