Pensioner in homes limbo

Patricia says seven years of worry is destroying her

A WERNETH pensioner says she has been “kicked in the guts” by proposed cuts to a multi-million-pound housing regeneration scheme.

Patricia Roberts, of Derby Street, was told that she would have to sell her house for demolition as part of the Housing Market Renewal programme seven years ago.

The 68-year-old, who has mobility problems because of a recent stroke, decided she would move closer to her family in Rutland, near Leicestershire.

Last week — after a seven-year wait — Rutland Council offered Patricia a bungalow so she informed the HMR team which told her that it may not be able to afford to buy her house because of Government budget cuts.

Nationally, the HMR project could face a £50 million cut in today’s emergency budget after Chancellor George Osborne demanded the Homes and Communities Agency cut spending by £230 million.

It is not yet clear how the £50 million cuts would be spread over the 10 schemes across the country.

Patricia said she now feels in total limbo and is worried that she could lose her place in Rutland.

She added: “I have had this hanging over me for seven years and it is destroying me.

“It’s taken so long to get a place in Rutland and now I am being told that HMR may not be able to afford to buy my house.

“There are only three houses on the whole street not boarded up. I feel like I have been kicked in the guts, it’s horrible. I just don’t know what’s going to happen and it’s making me feel ill.

“I keep getting told that no one will know anything until the budget is officially announced but it might be too late by then.”

But HMR has given her a glimmer of hope by telling the Chronicle that it is looking for ways to enable it to fulfil its pledge.

Head of housing implementation, Neil Crabtree, said: “We are seeking to find a way forward that will enable us to buy Mrs Roberts’s house on Derby Street and enable her to move to her new home in Rutland.

“While the national funding situation has prevented us from moving forward immediately, having spoken to Mrs Robert’s son-in-law, I’m confident that we will be able to honour our commitment.”