Henley Green residents hit out at housing association over demolition plan for garages

Citizen Housing says the garages are reaching the end of their life - but residents say it will leave them with nowhere for parking or storage



Coventry residents have hit out at plans by a housing association to demolish their garages.

Citizen Housing, which owns and manages 30,000 homes across the West Midlands, sent leaflets to homes in Henley Green saying it was carrying out a review of garages.

The social housing provider then said it planned to knock the garages down in Logan Road and informed Coventry City Council, which approved the plans and has issued a Section 81 notice allowing garage blocks in Logan Road to be bulldozed. There are three blocks on the site, containing rows of five, seven and 11 individual garage units respectively.

The council has to give permission for any demolition work in the city after being satisfied of the details of the project and that occupiers of adjacent buildings have been notified.

Citizen Housing told residents the garages were built from concrete and have "significant crumbling" which makes them unsafe to use. They'd reached the end of their useful life and were beyond economical repair, it argued.

In correspondence sent to the housing provider and seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a resident said: "I have rented my garage for decades. Its location is ideal as it is next to my house and both my wife and I are disabled pensioners. Other garages in the area have been demolished so I don't believe there will be a suitable garage in close proximity to us.

"Others use them as part of their livelihoods, some renting multiple garages."

A resident in Logan Road told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "We, the residents and garage renters, have not been asked to be involved in any community engagement about this. We have been kept in the dark by Citizen Housing.

"The only issues are because Citizen Housing have failed to maintain these garage blocks and others throughout the community."

He continued: "I personally have rented my garage for over 30 years and many others have rented theirs for almost as long. I once made a request to purchase it and was told we don't sell the garages.

"I don't believe for one second we are the only community being deprived by Citizen Housing of safe places to store our vehicles and property."

The three blocks affected by the demolition plans have all now given a zero value by the housing provider. Residents say the garages should instead be donated to current users or a local charity such as Moat House Community Trust.