A single mum said she is ‘depressed’ after council refused to move her to a different flat.
Andrea Barnes, a mum of two, who lives in a council flat in Chesterfield, asked the authority to relocate her to a different accommodation after one of her neighbours was bothering her due to her toddler ‘being loud’.
In August Andrea gave birth to her second child and had to go through an emergency C-section, which left her unable to bring her two toddlers, who are now 19 and three months old, upstairs to her flat, which is located on second floor of the building, with no lift.
She said: “I’m struggling very much, physically and emotionally. This affected my mental state enormously. I’m feeling depressed.
“One of my neighbours keeps banging on the wall and ceiling because they can hear my toddler playing or crying.
“I explained my son is just a toddler. Once two men came to my door, shouting, refusing to leave. I don’t feel safe here anymore.
In the last few months, Andrea contacted the council multiple times via phone and email asking to be relocated to a ground floor flat in a different property.
After her requests were refused, she filed an official complaint, but it was not upheld despite being considered twice.
In the emails sent to Andrea in repsonse, the council stated that while there was ‘empathy for her sitatution’ she was ‘suitably house in a two bedroom proeprty’ and ‘a managment move would not be happening at the time’.
Andrea added: “The council suggested that I look for a place through a homeswap but that did not work because no one wants to relcoate from two beds ground floor flat to a two beds second floor with no lift.”
Speaking on the Andrea’s situation, Councillor Jean Innes, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for housing, said: “We are aware of the concerns that our tenant has raised about her home and current housing needs, and we are continuing to offer our support and discuss the options that are available to her.
“Our housing allocation policies are designed to meet the needs of all our tenant’s, whilst ensuring that we are prioritising those who are most in need, but we will continue to discuss all of the available options with our tenant.
“We have also taken steps to address the issues raised with her neighbour and have met with both tenants to try to mediate and resolve the situation.”
