Resident calls for ‘disability- friendly’ housing on new estates

A LOCAL family ‘desperately’ needing to move into a new house that is ‘disability friendly’ has raised concerns that the new development at Keyford Meadows excludes people with certain disabilities from living in the properties. 

Social housing provider, Curo, has developed 47 one and two-bedroom apartments and two, three, four and five-bedroom houses on the site that straddles Sandy Hills Lane in Little Keyford.

However, the family, who have been bidding for two years to move into a new property in Frome that is bigger and wheelchair-friendly, says they were informed by Curo that the properties are not suitable for certain adaptation and therefore cannot be lived in by people with certain access needs.

“The only adaptation we need is a stairlift,” explained Jon O’Loughlin. “My wife had a stroke while pregnant seven years ago, which has led to her having cognitive issues, seizures, and an above-knee amputation. We have three children, two of which are diagnosed as autistic. I had to stop working to care for them.”

Jon explained that Curo had said the houses are built to meet regulations and do not have to be liveable for people with disabilities. He has also been liaising with MP Sarah Dyke, who has been in contact with Curo about the issue.

“Curo has said they are not breaking any rules by not putting any disabled houses in. Years ago, we moved into a house long before we had issues with disability and we were told at the time that all new properties had to be ready for a stairlift. They are putting all the new houses up and they are saying not one of them can be lived in by someone with accessibility needs.”

With difficulties in finding a property in Frome, Jon said the family may have to consider relocating. 

“All our family are close by in Wiltshire. We are registered in Wiltshire, but we are very low down the list. We don’t want to go too far away from Frome as we’re a long way from family. As the sole carer for my wife and three kids, I need the support of my family and we have built a life here.

“I also do stuff down at the theatre, it allows me to escape without having to drive. We really want to stick with Frome. We are lucky to have a house, but it’s really frustrating that there is a process in place that’s supposed to help us, but it appears like the associations are allowed to write their own rules.”

A spokesperson for Curo Housing said, “These homes are designed to meet a nationally specified set of accessibility requirements, as agreed with the local authority.

“The standard in this case, as per the agreement with the council, is not the highest tier of accessibility – which is what would be required to meet the resident’s needs. The construction of the homes means that they cannot be safely adapted.

“We are very sympathetic to the resident’s situation and understand that it’s challenging to find the right home in the right location. Regrettably, we don’t have any homes on this development that would meet the specific requirements.”

Jon added, “I want to raise awareness of the fact that there are all these new houses, but they are not accessible to live in. My other question is, if someone in a wheelchair shows up at the show home with an interest in buying the house, would it be made accessible then?”