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Peter Denman |
‘Want your flat decorating before we knock it down?’
Older residents of home receive offer after being told building is doomed
CityWest Homes has sent letters to an elderly people’s home in Bayswater earmarked for demolition asking if they would like their flats refurbished.
Twenty residents of Bridgefield House in Queensway received the letters in error this week from CityWest, which manages 22,000 council properties.
It followed earlier correspondence from CityWest, Westminster’s arms-length management organisation, about consultation on plans to shut down the building.
“This is turning into a farce,” said Peter Denman, 69, who lives in Bridgefield House.
He said: “I asked to have my hall doors painted ages ago. This week I received a letter from the Bayswater estate office saying they would carry out the works. Why the hell are they prepared to do it up if they are talking about knocking it down?”
The chief executive of CityWest Homes Brian Johnson said: “We apologise to the residents of Bridgefield House for any confusion this letter may have caused.
“The letter was sent out to a small number of residents eligible for redecoration as a follow-up to a communication which pre-dated the announcement on the future of Bridgefield House. CityWest Homes will be in touch with residents involved in the near future to clarify the situation.”
The “clerical error” mirrors a recent episode in another elderly people’s home in Marylebone.
Sante Zanello, who refuses to leave Macintosh House in Beaumont Street, received a letter last month stating that the four-storey block that was closed in March, would soon be in line for a raft of refurbishments.
The West End Extra revealed last week how updates to Bridgefield House were recommended by council-commissioned architects.
The recommendations, including wheelchair ramps, refurbished kitchens and a laundry service, were ignored. |
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