COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Ribbon Court will be used to house homeless families instead



Older people living in a Coventry sheltered housing complex are being told to leave their homes as the building is set to be used for homeless families instead. Residents of Ribbon Court in Foleshill were given section 21 notices yesterday (16 August) after receiving warning letters last week.

They have just weeks to find new homes and must be out by 20 October, according to the letters. Residents say the situation is "heartbreaking" and they are worried about where they will go.

It comes as Ribbon Court, a housing scheme for over-55s with extra care for those who need it, is set to be closed down.

Provider GreenSquareAccord say not enough people are living in the building and the scheme isn't financially sustainable. The flats will instead be used as temporary accommodation for families in the city experiencing homelessness, a spokesperson confirmed.

Supporting residents to find new homes is their "number one priority", they added. But for people living at Ribbon Court the news has come as a shock. They said they feel it's not clear what help they will be receiving.

There are around 35-45 residents of the flats, including a person in their eighties and people with disabilities. Many cried when they heard they'd be asked to leave last week, residents told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Those we spoke to are very worried about whether they'll be able to find new homes and what this will be like. Roberta Clark said it was "heartbreaking" to see people who have lived in the building for years served section 21 notices yesterday.

The news she must leave her home of 7 years has taken its toll on her health, she added.

"I had to phone my GP because my anxiety levels have been going up and up. I am scared I am going to have a heart attack," she said. "October 20th is no time. How on earth are they going to find a home for nearly 45 residents?"

Her worst fear is "being out on the street, being homeless, going into a hostel."

She's also worried for people who she says are more vulnerable than her who live in the flats. "I am really a strong person, I am, and it's affecting me."

Stanley Simms, who has lived in his flat for five years, is also worried. An amputee, he uses a wheelchair to get around and has a walk-in shower in his flat. He is concerned the place he is put won't be suitable for him.

"The fear is to be left homeless as well, that's the biggest fear of all. It's a lot to take in," he said.

A resident who is in their seventies said: "I don't think it's right. Some of the women were crying, one was crying every day. It's come as a shock to everyone."

Lonely resident becomes last living in entire block in Coventry

One resident remains living in their home in sheltered accommodation in Coventry after all others were moved out of the building as new plans for it are put forward. Only one resident remains in Ribbon Court in Foleshill, which GreenSquareAccord have asked for the go-ahead to turn into temporary accommodation for families.

Thirty-six other people who lived at the 50-flat block, prioritised for the elderly, have been moved to permanent homes in the city, with one choosing to move to London, the group said. A report filed last week said two residents were remaining at the site and the group confirmed yesterday that one tenant is still there.

They say they are working with the council to move the resident to a new home. People living in the scheme were said to be left in tears when they were handed eviction notices last August. They were given until October 20 to leave, and the housing provider confirmed the service would shut by then.

Asked why the scheme is still operating now despite the original deadline date, the group said it had been working with remaining residents to find them a home. Plans said the building, which opened in 2010, "struggled" to get enough residents with care packages for it to be financially viable.

It added that if the bid is not approved, the building will "shortly be empty." The block was designed as a scheme for older people but will house homeless families under the new plans revealed by the group last year.

GreenSquareAccord said at the time it was working closely with the council on the plans, including support for residents. The latest plans are not to change the building physically but would allow it to house a wider range of people.

Coventry council will make the decision on the scheme. Plans can be viewed under reference: PL/2024/0000935/FUL.

Disabled woman with 'nowhere to go' is last person left in Coventry sheltered housing complex



A disabled Coventry woman feels “frightened” and “vulnerable” as she is the only one left in her sheltered housing block. Jackie Kennedy, 53, has not been able to find a suitable home after being hit with two eviction notices from the managers of Ribbon Court in Foleshill.

Housing group GreenSquareAccord are turning the building into temporary housing and all but two residents moved out in October last year. They claimed they have offered her “significant” support but admitted finding a suitable home for her has been “challenging.”

Coventry council said the process is “difficult” but added that most people living in the scheme have moved to suitable alternative homes. They claimed all residents have been offered other homes in line with its housing and social care legal duties.

Since June, Jackie has been the last tenant remaining at Ribbon Court. After the other resident moved out she felt so vulnerable that she stayed on a sofa-bed in her mother’s 1-bedroom bungalow for a week, she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS.)

On what it is like as the last person there, she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “It feels like doomsday and I’m just trying to survive on there on my own. All these corridors are empty, it’s like a film.”

She claimed drug dealers and drug users have gathered in the building’s car park at night. She told us: “I have to have my windows open and I’ve got a camera on my door.

“It’s frightening, because they can see the building’s empty and people are gathering out there.” The security isn't adequate she claimed, adding that she is afraid to go down there to let her dog out if it needs to go at night.

Jackie told us she suffers from crippling pain and other health problems. She was left disabled after an accident 10 years ago which meant her leg had to be reconstructed, and she now uses mobility aids and struggles to get up and down stairs.

She said she decided to move to Ribbon Court in late 2022, because of a recommendation from her social prescriber. She gave up a “lovely” adapted house to do so but Ribbon Court offered more care and seemed safer than living alone, she added.

She moved in in January 2023 but just eight months later residents were told they had to leave their homes, due to new plans for the block. Jackie called the decision to move there the “biggest mistake of my life” and says she should not have been accepted if those running the scheme knew of the plan.

She told us she has been offered a house but it is in Willenhall, outside CV6 where her mum and brother live and where she grew up. She said she wouldn’t feel safe in the area and claimed the home is at the back of a car park where there are also problems with drug users.

Jackie claimed she feels discriminated against as others in the scheme were taken out to view more properties but she wasn’t. She said she has tried about 50 homes but had offers from only one, and says other residents with dogs were able to move out to places in their preferred area.

Jackie alleged the housing group started switching off lifts over the winter, saying it was for repairs. She said she had to wait “hours” to get to her flat and it only stopped after her solicitor got involved.

Her solicitor Peter Jewell confirmed that lifts had been switched off and said the reason given was that they were being repaired, but for it to be that often “beggars belief.” Mr Jewell felt she is being “bullied” to get her out and stressed that she needs accommodation in CV6 as her brother is there.He said she had been served two eviction notices, of which both were worded incorrectly.

Coventry temporary housing plan gets go-ahead despite school's plea



Homeless Coventry families will move into an old sheltered housing complex in Foleshill despite objections from locals. Plans to convert Ribbon Court into temporary accommodation got the go-ahead last week.

Residents and a school opposed the bid over the feared impact on the area and criticism of the block's suitability. But officers and building owners said the block would be well managed and better than the alternative of B&Bs.

They also stressed the need for the scheme, amid a huge rise in city families becoming homeless, and said only families and pregnant women will live there. Planning committee members voted in favour of the scheme last week, 12 December. Councillors voted by six to three in favour of the plans.

Cllr Jackie Gardiner (Sherbourne, Con) said she understood residents and the school's concerns but believed many of them were rooted in a "misunderstanding" of what is being put forward. She stressed that the management plan will control many of the concerns and said the housing is desperately needed by people in the city.

Cllr Kevin Maton (Henley, Lab) questioned some of the concerns raised and also pointed out there are shortages in services everywhere around the city. "Given the fact that this is a very real need now, we're not looking to provide something where people can move into that doesn't exist at the moment - this is existing accommodation - I see no reason to refuse this," he said.

He stressed that a management plan must be explained and be available to locals so they know how to raise issues and what conditions that are in place.

They said only families and pregnant women will live there.