A Birchington couple say they fear they will never be able to move from their static caravan because of the lack of disability adapted properties in Thanet.
Douglas and Alison Dunce and their son Callum have lived in Birchington Vale for eight years after selling up due to unmanageable mortgage payments. The static was bought through a loan which will swallow up any future sale proceeds.
Alison has been mostly bedbound for the last two years with a number of conditions, including cerebellar ataxia which causes poor muscle control and affects balance, coordination, and speech.
The 58-year-old has also suffered spinal fractures caused by falls and is confined to the caravan sitting room, which now contains a hospital bed and equipment such as a commode.
Burbridges’ worker Douglas says it has been a struggle to get on the council housing list with applications twice rejected due to questions over the caravan ownership but, after help from MP Roger Gale and presenting a housing needs report, they were finally accepted in July.
However, their bids can only be accepted on properties that are compatible with their needs (edit- as stipulated through an OT assessment).
Douglas, 55, said: “My wife is bed-bound and is stuck in the caravan, only able to use the front room.
“She used to drive and get around but her health issues have progressed over the years. She had a fall a couple of years ago that snapped her leg and knee joints and she had already been using a frame because of a lack of feeling in her legs.
“We eventually got on the housing list after supplying information and have been helped by the MP and local councillor Peter Evans but it is impossible to find anything.
“We have bid on four or five properties that are ground floor, level access, but then are told that unless the property is 100% ready for us to move in – so a wet room not bathroom among other things – then we can’t have it.
“It’s impossible, there isn’t going to be a property that’s bang on ready for us. I don’t even mind paying six months rent up front so that a place could then be adapted with grab rails, wider doors etc, but that won’t happen.
“Cllr Evans, who is a clinical lead with the NHS, believes our living conditions are detrimental to my wife’s health.
“We are trying the make the best of a bad thing but it feels like we will never get a property and I think there must be many disabled people in the same position as us.”
Doug says the couple have been told they will have more chance of getting a suitable property if son Callum, 25, moves out. But Doug says his son is Autistic, has learning difficulties and suffers from similar conditions to his mum, including cerebellar ataxia. He said: “That would mean he has to go to assisted living and as a parent I’m not going to abandon my son.”
Douglas says he is aware of others also struggling to find adapted properties, with one person saying they have been on the waiting list for eight years.
He added: “Why are ground floor, level access properties – which should be for those with disabilities- having bathrooms installed instead of wet rooms? I saw one that had clearly been adapted and after the person dies they ripped all the adaptation out.
“It feels like discrimination, it feels like disabled people have been abandoned.”
Growing demand
Doug and Alison are not alone in their predicament. The Centre for Ageing Better has warned that progress on some accessibility features has been “frozen in time” with little progress made over more than a decade.
A report from the organisation says that while the proportion of homes with certain accessibility features has flatlined, demand is growing with rising numbers of Disabled people, declining healthy life expectancy and a growing ageing population.
The difference between the number of Disabled people in England and the number of fully accessible homes has grown by more than two million in just over a decade.
In 2022, the latest date for which figures are available, the number of disabled people was 16.1 million while the number of fully accessible homes is 3.3 million.
The Centre for Ageing Better is calling on the government to use the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which is now in its final stages, to stimulate the construction of more accessible homes to meet current and future need.
Disability Rights UK is also calling raise the standard of accessibility and adaptation through the Planning Bill.
Adapted homes in Thanet
Thanet council owns just over 3,000 homes. It says it has 1,303 active applications on Thanet District Council’s Housing Register but cannot provide the exact number of those who require adapted properties.
However, TDC says: “Of the 1,303 live applications, 67 applicants have declared they use a wheelchair indoors. These are likely to require adaptations.”
The council has 128 adapted properties in its housing stock. There is currently one void (empty) but the authority says not all adapted properties are suitable for all applicants.
The authority says council housing stock can only be adapted following recommendations from an Occupational Therapist and this would be determined on a case by case basis as to if the property was suitable for an adaptation.
However, TDC says it is ‘working hard’ to provide more accessible homes through its own build and buy programme.
A spokesperson said: “The council is working hard to meet the needs of everyone on its Housing Register. As such, it is building a mix of ‘general needs’ homes and adaptable and accessible homes.
“All nine homes at the Clements Road development in Ramsgate (part of the Phase 4 programme) will be adaptable with one fully accessible home.
“In addition, we are installing flush floor showers in existing ground floor flats, so that they can be allocated to people with disabilities.
“The council is actively trying to bring forward a mix of homes to suit people on the Housing Register with a range of requirements, and to deliver accessible homes that may not be delivered on the open market.”
For Alison and Douglas the wait continues. Doug said: “My wife’s tw0-plus years in a bed in the lounge, only getting bed baths, is taking its toll. I think we’ll never get anywhere but I can’t let it go.”
There are many hundreds of people in Thanet that don’t need to be in council housing, but are so used to it they’ll never get a job and break the cycle. If we reserved council housing for those that did actually truly need it, then all council housing would be able to cater for disabilities. I’m sure the housing dept in TDC wants to provide housing and yet people take aim at them expecting them to magically up properties at a whim, when really, you should be holding those in society in council houses and social housing to account for taking up a resource that the most vulnerable need.
Why is it the councils problem! I expect they are on exceptionally high benefits due to disabilities, use them for what they are for and look at other options. If they were a working family and owned a property they would need to sort themselves out like the rest of us do. The unfit for work UK population is so entitled.
He works at Burbridges.
Agreed, he works, but probably part time. They’ll be taking considerable amounts from the taxpayer.
Can you please explain, why you would think he only would work part time?
Because his wife is unable to do anything by herself. The son probably doesn’t work, or works part time too. Bizarre.
Have you ever been customer to Burbridges? As whenever I go to Burbridges, for the last 20 years. Dougie always seems to be there.
I work full time luckily for an understanding Boss.
At least they have somewhere to live, unlike some.
Out of interest, do Council properties get offered to people on a fixed term basis ? Reviewed at the end of said period to see if their circumstances have changed ?
I know of a number of cases where a single parent was given a Council house who then got together with a partner earning good money who moved in. They could easily afford a rental in the private market but stay in their Council houses blocking it from being let to anyone else.
Unfortunately not. Council tenants are offered a lifetime assured tenancy after living there for 1 year. There are tenants who could easily afford private rentals; one tenant living in a family home as all children have flown the nest and don’t want to leave their home; tenancies being passed on to family when tenant dies (as long as family member has lived there for 12 months – regardless of their income/needs). Many seem to think it’s their ‘right’ to stay in a property, even if their circumstances change.
But is that TDC’s choice or the law ? Do other Councils offer only fixed term tenancies for Council tenants ? Seems to me that would massively help out with dwindling stock and rising demand.
Unfortunately there are many thousands all over the country in a similar situation thanks to evil Thatcher and her bribery of letting council tenants buy council houses on the cheap.
Millions of council tenants were given interest only mortgages
However when reaching the end of the mortgage term the tenants realised there was no way they could pay the capital amount off, hence many were forced to sell the house to gain enough money to buy a caravan, no longer able to afford a
New mortgage . It’s no coincidence that caravan parks have increased in size 25 years after Thatcher’s bribing of voters mortgages came to an end.
They also benefitted from the massive amounts of value their houses increased by. Imagine being the person still blaming Thatcher all the way into 2025. She died over a decade ago, and she was PM 35 years ago, if these people couldn’t make it work for them, they didn’t have to buy their council houses in the first place.
Absolutely ut is the case that the current situation with Council Housing is down to Thatcher.
Before her “Right to Buy” scheme, there was ample Council hosing for rent. In turn, there wasn’t the demand for privately rented homes, so rents were much more reasonable.
Thatcher’s legislation saw to it that Council Housing was sold off, and it was virtually impossible for Councils to build more. The demand fell on the private sector (often in houses which had until been Council properties), forcing rents to rise.
I think it’s perfectly all right to blame Thatcher for causing the loss of council housing through her government’s introduction of the right to buy.
The council houses were never owned by Thatcher in the first place she stole the houses from the councils they were built and paid for out of local taxes, to confirm she was a thief she took the money from the sales of the houses to be sent to the Conservative government, robbing councils of billions of £££s in lost rents and assets.
It sickens me to hear hear the likes of Farage talking about Thatcher as if she was a hero.
She was as you say Bill totally evil. The homeless situation of today is 100% down to Thacher.
Thacher was for from perfect, but I know she didn’t force one single person to buy their council house.
Many (from every political persuasion) when given the “Right to buy” jumped at the chance. Purely for selfish and financial gain. So, everyone that did needs to take responsibility for their part in the whole sorry mess that’s left now.
Let’s have some respect. Mrs Thatcher did what she thought was right..As usual greedy people ruined what was a good idea.- to let more people gave the right to own property.Greedy families bought their parents houses.Things were different post war
We should be looking ahead..
Thatcher doesn’t deserve one once of respect she was wicked devious under handed mostly drunk woman who in the end even her own party see through her in the end and forced her out of office.