You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Morning Briefing: disabled Grenfell survivor forced into hotel with no bathroom access
A disabled survivor of the Grenfell Tower fire has been forced to live in a hotel with no accessible bathroom because no suitable permanent accommodation has been found for her
The Guardian has an interview with Mariko Toyoshima-Lewis, 43, who said she had had to leave the hotel where she has lived with her three young children for 16 months every time she needed to use the toilet or have a shower because her wheelchair would not fit into the bathroom.
When she was unable to make the journey to an accessible bathroom in another hotel five minutes away, she had to use a commode, which her children had to empty for her. As she was unable to get into the bathroom, she was also forced to wash her son in a bucket.
“The council do not care about human dignity,” said Ms Toyoshima-Lewis, a former teacher from Japan. “The way they have treated me and my children has made our trauma from the fire so much worse.”
She and her children are among the 19 households that are still in temporary accommodation, hotels or serviced apartments almost two years after the fire.
Meanwhile, the BBC reports that sprinklers will be installed in three high-rise flats in Reading under £3m safety plans drawn up following the Grenfell Tower fire.
Reading Borough Council unanimously voted to fit the sprinklers in the Coley Park high-rise flats after they were recommended by inspectors. The council said sprinklers were not a legal necessity but it would install them as it valued residents’ safety.
In financial news, the International Monetary Fund warned that Britain will suffer economic damage equivalent to the loss of at least two to three years of normal growth between now and the end of 2021 if it leaves the European Union without an exit deal. Reuters has the full story.
There is an interview in The Guardian with Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, in which she says that councils must ensure amenities such as playgrounds are open to all and that tenants should not be segregated.
There is a row brewing in the Black Country where councils have asked neighbouring authorities in Shropshire if they can supply land to help meet a shortfall in space for houses, the Express & Star reports.
Although Shropshire Council’s cabinet agreed to investigate whether it had land, one of its constituent areas Telford & Wrekin Council has said there is no evidence to support the request.
Meanwhile, councillors have opposed plans to build hundreds of flats on the site of a former retail park in Barnet, according to the local Times newspaper.
Developer Meadow Partners wants to build 844 homes in blocks up to 15 storeys high in Mill Hill. But Barnet Council’s planning committee refused permission for a similar development in July last year over inadequate levels of affordable housing.
The effectiveness of the Homelessness Reduction Act is being hampered by cuts to local authority budgets, The Guardian reports.
The number of people left homeless as a result of domestic violence has almost tripled in Aberdeen over the past five years, according to new data from the local council – Scottish Housing News has the full story.
On social media
The Chartered Institute of Housing launched its Make a Stand supporting pledge in Bristol yesterday, with a number of housing organisations signing up:
‘The thing that unites us in #ukhousing is wanting to build, manage and maintain brilliant quality homes - there’s no point doing that if people aren’t safe in those homes’ @Alison_Inman on why she is so passionate about #makeastand #supporterspledge pic.twitter.com/2CR29wdmSE
— Chartered Institute of Housing (@CIHhousing)‘The thing that unites us in #ukhousing is wanting to build, manage and maintain brilliant quality homes - there’s no point doing that if people aren’t safe in those homes’ @Alison_Inman on why she is so passionate about #makeastand #supporterspledge pic.twitter.com/2CR29wdmSE
— Chartered Institute of Housing (@CIHhousing) April 9, 2019
There were powerful testimonies from survivors:
First time I’ve seen a mostly male audience at a Domestic Abuse conference 🙌 Well done to the amazing survivors who spoke. Thanks for having me #makeastand @CIHhousing t.co/a2rGOKnNNX
— Bonnie Navarra (@BonnieNavarra)>First time I've seen a mostly male audience at a Domestic Abuse conference \uD83D\uDE4C Well done to the amazing survivors who spoke. Thanks for having me #makeastand @CIHhousing https://t.co/a2rGOKnNNX
— Bonnie Navarra (@BonnieNavarra) April 9, 2019
