WORRIED residents on a Basildon estate are “living in limbo” as the council prepares to bulldoze their homes which were built with a potentially crumbling concrete.
All 18 homes on the Knights Estate, in Lee Chapel North, are set to be demolished by Basildon Council after it was found they were constructed using Siporex - a variant of Raac.
Since the discovery last year, many have left the estate. However, council tenants say they still face an uncertain future and claim they have had a lack of communication with the council.
In addition, the council has stated that residents must remove all carpets and furniture from their homes, or face a charge of £160 per room.
Angelica Malone, a resident of the estate, says the council’s treatment of residents has been “totally unreasonable”.
Basildon council will be fining residents £160 per room for failing to remove their carpets and other belongings. (Image: Wilson Chowdhry)
She said: “We’re essentially living in limbo. Its been about eight months since we found out, but only one council resident has been moved so far, and that was only on Monday.
“Most people here are of a low-income background and there are a lot of vulnerable people. We have to pay for the moving ourselves, which adds its own layer of stress and my friend was told she would be fined if she didn’t remove her carpet.
"Why do we need to rip the place apart if it is going to be demolished? The way the council has been treating us is totally unreasonable.
“It has been so stressful and frightening. I have two kids and was told I could be given a home that’s more than three miles away and that’s the only option so far.
“My daughter has just started secondary school and I work near the estate. I don’t drive and I don’t want her to have to take two buses to get to school.
“I feel under a lot of pressure and I am not the only one.”
Chairman of the UK RAAC campaign group, Wilson Chowdhry, has been campaigning fiercely for residents and criticised the council’s “awful” treatment of tenants.
He said: “The council have been stonewalling residents for a long time.
“They would still have no answers if we didn’t get involved. It is only after our protests that residents have been offered £8,860 as support, but that doesn’t go a long way.
"Their handling of the situation has been awful and imposing fines for the removal of carpets is just a cheeky way to get back some of the compensation they have handed out.”
Basildon Council was contacted for comment.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel