Devastated residents set to lose their homes as owner wins right to demolish housing estate

Residents on a former National Coal Board housing estate look set to lose their homes and their close-knit community after the latest round in a fight to save the properties from demolition. Tenants on the estate in Oulton, Leeds, have battled for three years to stop private landlord Pemberstone from evicting them and replacing the 70 post-war, prefabricated properties with new-builds.

Leeds City Council supported the residents and threw out a planning application from Worcestershire-based Pemberstone but the firm appealed the decision. Now the government’s Planning Inspectorate has ruled in its favour. The residents, some of whom have lived on Sugar Hill Lane and Wordsworth Drive for over 50 years, are devastated.

While 11 former miners, who are on old-style tenancy agreements, must be rehoused at the new development, their neighbours will be forced to leave as they all have shorthold tenancies. These usually require one month’s notice to quit but, due to new government rules prompted by the pandemic, they have been extended to six months.

The prefabricated rental properties were built in 1953 to house workers from the nearby Rothwell colliery. The coal board sold the estate and since 1990, there have been three different owners.

Resident Cindy Readman, who faces losing her home of 16 years, was one of those who helped lead the campaign to have the affordable properties refurbished rather than demolished. She said: “We are devastated because we thought we stood a good chance at the appeal. There is no reason why these properties cannot be renovated rather than knocked down and replaced in what is just a money making exercise to build executive homes.

“We are grateful to everyone who helped us raise £26.000 to get a barrister to represent us at the appeal, particularly the National Union of Mineworkers, who gave us a large donation, because without that we would not have stood a chance. We are also grateful to all those professionals who offered their advice for free.”

She added: “We thought that because some of the houses had protected tenancies we would all be ok but we aren’t and now we face moving. It is heartbreaking. A lot of people here are workers on low income and there are no other affordable housing options in the area.”

Mavis Abbey and her husband Barry, a former miner, have lived on the estate for 51 years and, although they qualify for one of Pemberstone’s new-build houses, they are upset at the idea of losing their community. She says: “We have brilliant neighbours here on the estate. It is a very caring place but all that will be lost if these houses are demolished. I am also concerned about the wildlife we have here as that will be affected when they knock our homes down.”

Pemberstone say that the prefabricated “Airey” homes are past their expected lifespan and the cost of refurbishing is not financially viable, though residents point out that this has been done elsewhere in the country. Pemberstone adds that it made attempts to sell the housing estate to housing associations but failed to find a buyer.

It also refuted resident claims that their homes will be replaced by executive houses, saying there will be a mix of two, three and four-bedroom properties and that it may sell the entire new-build site to a housing association. A spokesman for Pemberstone said: “We are pleased with the outcome of the appeal and its recognition that the plans represent the most realistic and sustainable option for the suture of Wordsworth Drive and Sugar Hill Close. We are now reviewing the situation and will be carefully considering future plans in the coming weeks and months.”

*Tracey Nathan, Shelter Sheffield hub manager said: “If someone has an assured shorthold tenancy, their landlord has to take specific legal steps if they want to evict them. The landlord must first serve written notice, then go to court for a possession order and a bailiff's warrant. Since August 29, 2020, and until 31 March 31, 2021,, this notice must be six months in order to give greater protection to tenants during the pandemic. Anyone with an assured shorthold tenancy who is facing eviction or worried about becoming homeless can come to Shelter for free and get expert help by visiting www.shelter.org.uk/get_help ”

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