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OAPs ROCKED BY EVICTION BOMBSHELL
TWENTY pensioners – some as old as 90 – will be forced to leave their homes, the West End Extra can reveal.
The residents of Bridgefield House in Queensway, Bayswater, learned their fate in a letter on Monday.
Consulants, employed by the council, claim the block, in Queensway, does not meet access requirements.
It has been flagged for demolition as part of multi-million pound plans to build 600 new affordable homes in Westminster.
Gina Rahael, working in the home, said: “We received a letter on Monday from City West Homes saying Bridgefield House does not meet access requirements – but the building is fine. If there is an access issue they should just fix it.
“The elderly residents here are very concerned about this. Some do not understand what is being proposed. I think this is just about profit-making.”
The move to shut down Bridgefieldreplicates the build-up to the closure of another old people’s home in Marylebone earlier this year.
Macintosh House – with 30 rooms – was decommissioned after it failed to meet new access requirements.
Steve Moore, deputy director for housing at the council, said: “The Council commissioned experts in elderly care to look at the facilities on offer at Bridgefield House and they have concluded it does not meet the standards we expect to achieve for our older people.
“We have now commenced initial consultation with residents about our proposals and these will continue over the next couple of months. Their views will be carefully considered by cabinet members later this year before the plans are finalised. We would stress that no final decision has been taken as yet.”
The Warwick Estate Nursery School and residents hall in Circenster Road, Paddington, will be “relocated” as part of the Community Build scheme masterminded by world-renowned architect Sir Terry Farrell.
The £116 million plans will create 600 new homes on “disused” space in Westminster estates – include 200 flats for families living in temporary accommodation.
The nine sites proposed this week, in some of the most deprived parts of Westminster, include:
• the Warwick Estate Nursery School and resident’s hall in Paddington – 80 new homes;
• the Violet Hill garages in St John’s Wood – 30 new homes;
• the redundant boiler house in John Aid Court in Paddington – 25 new homes;
• Isis House in Lisson Grove – 20 new homes.
A major new build is planned for the Luxborough Tower site in Marylebone Road. Thirty new homes are also proposed for the Violet Hill site – a labyrinth of disused garages in St John’s Wood.
Councillor Angela Harvey, lead member for housing, said: “The simple fact is that Westminster needs more homes. These potential sites are examples of the kinds of developments the council is planning of disused buildings, areas where space is wasted and run-down garages. The plans will also see environmental improvements made to where work takes place.”
Full consultation will be carried out with residents in autumn. |
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