'We'll be in our bungalows 'til the bulldozers come'

Elderly bungalow residents in Cheshire have said they are worried about having to leave their local area because of proposals to demolish their homes and build a new development on the site.

Social landlord Peaks and Plains plans to demolish 44 bungalows in Bollington, near Macclesfield, and replace them with 33 apartments, 25 houses and nine bungalows.

Some residents of the bungalows, which were built in the 1960s, said while the stress was causing them health problems, they would not leave "until the bulldozers come in".

Peaks and Plains said it would be "patient and understand their concerns".

None of the residents who spoke to the BBC wanted to give their surnames or be photographed.

Barbara, who is 85, said the stress was making her ill.

Her son Mark said: "The doctor did some tests and he said 'I don't believe it's a problem with [your] stents, I believe it's stress, through the situation you're going through'."

Barbara said she did not want to leave Bollington because her children, church and doctors were all in the town.

"It's just the worry," she said. "I wake up with it in the morning and I'm looking around my room and thinking how much longer have I got?"

Meanwhile, fellow resident Brenda said: "It's coping with how old you're getting and the situations you're in.

"When I went into my bungalow, I decorated it all through.

"I'm 87 now and I don't want to go decorating another bungalow."

A third Bollington resident, Beattie, said that most of her neightbours had already moved out.

She said she felt lonely and "like you're living in some derelict area and it used to be beautiful".

Beattie said the biggest concern was potentially having to leave the Bollington area.

"You're in limbo because you don't know where we're going to go," she said.

"I want to stay in Bollington because my daughter is my carer now - I've had three quite serious health issues."

Alan also said he did not want to leave and vowed: "We'll be there 'til the bulldozers come in."

Beattie added that she would be "chaining herself in" at her bungalow.

John Weston, a councillor at Bollington Town Council, said the local authority was "in some ways supportive of the fact there's a new development".

But he added: "Then you have the way in which it's been handled, which has been absolutely dreadful, and the way in which the communication has been dealt with, which has been so poor."

He also criticised what he said was a "national problem" with "no incentive" for housing associations to renovate existing properties rather than demolish them and rebuild on that land.

The council said it felt there could have been "an improved way to consult with residents and the handling of the application".

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said the government had "robust regulations" requiring housing associations to "invest and maintain their homes".

They added: "We have kickstarted a decade of social and affordable housing renewal by giving providers more leeway to borrow and invest in new and existing homes, including £1.29bn through the Warm Homes Social Housing Fund, which supports providers to make energy efficiency improvements to their homes."

Peaks and Plains chief executive Mark Howden said it had considered renovating the bungalows but had instead decided to demolish and rebuild because of the costs involved.

"We are here to deliver local housing need, that's why we exist," he said.

Howden said there was a "desperate shortage" of affordable and social homes in Bollington and this was an "opportunity to deliver substantially more homes".

He added: "We exist to provide all our tenants, all over 5,000 of them, with value for money for their rent and the rent of our future tenants.

"We think this scheme will be putting back substantially more homes and that will start to meet some of the massive demand for different types of housing in Bollington."

Howden acknowledged residents' concerns, however.

"We recognise that these are people's homes, we don't take that lightly at all," he said.

"We recognise that they've been there for some considerable time and we will work with them to ensure that we get the outcome that they need."

The plans are set to be discussed by Cheshire East Council in the coming weeks.

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