We’ve lived on estate for 40 years but now homes are being demolished – we’re devastated and we won’t give them up
RESIDENTS who have lived on an estate for 40 years are devastated now that their homes are being demolished – but they won’t give them up.
Cambridge City Council has fingered 122 homes on the 122-home Ekin Road estate for “possible redevelopment”.
The council is deciding whether to repair and renovate the homes or to raze all but twenty of them.
It is also mulling a third option – slapping all tenants with eviction notices or Compulsory Purchase Orders before bulldozing the whole estate.
Olive Hamblin, 66, has lived on the Cambridge estate since 1977 with her husband Pete, 68.
She said: “I’m almost blind and I have multiple sclerosis so I have trouble walking.
“I’m comfortable here, I know my way around, I know every part of this house.
“If I were made to go live somewhere else I’d be really struggling.”
Neighbour Lynda, 69, said: “This is not a house, it’s a home. This is where all our memories are.
“Do you keep carrying on as if everything’s fine or do you put everything on hold?
“What type of price do they put on people’s memories and their belongings and their gardens and everything else?”
Rachel Chiodo said: “This is our home and we don’t want to be forced into giving that up.
“We saved and we did everything we could to try and get on the housing market.
“We finally felt like we’d made it. We then had our own house and now apparently the council can just take it away.”
Paola Pugsley, 81, said: “I saw this one as my last house. It really is my little cocoon. I don’t want to start again somewhere else.”
Councillor Gerri Bird said: “We do understand that living in a state of limbo causes concern for people.
“That’s why we are hoping to be able to provide clarity on next steps following the Housing Scrutiny Committee meeting next week.
“I would like to reassure residents that if they are asked to move out of their homes, we have considerable experience of working with households to provide support to make the transition as seamless as possible.
“We will also work with every resident to help them find a suitable new home.”