Greenwich home redeveloped to ease housing list 'now being used by Luton Council' after failed deal
| Published date | 09 April 2024 |
| Publication title | MyLondon (England) |
The knock-on effect was that the building's owner sought another deal to fill it, and the Local Democracy Reporting Service LDRS understands that Luton Council has now agreed to house people there instead. Ben Howlett, 37, moved to the road in 2018 when the site was still a hostel for those with learning difficulties.
He said Grosvenor Hill began to convert the building into a home for 26 adults about a year and a half ago and, after enduring the building works, he was surprised to learn it was no longer benefitting people from within the borough. He has also raised issues with CCTV cameras which he and other residents claim overlook their homes, and described the building as resembling a public toilet in the middle of the Ashburnham Triangle Conservation Area.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service LDRS: "All of us have got issues in terms of overlooking which we were told wouldn't be the case. I only found out that they had a CCTV camera pointing into our front rooms and bedrooms at the front of our properties by the time I arrived and had a tour of the site. I was like, 'What is that I can see right into our front rooms. Why have you got a camera pointing in' That, I believe, hasn't been changed either." Grosvenor Hill denies the cameras look into anyone's homes.
Mr Howlett added that he's concerned how the property will be managed and the impact that could have on residents, given the vulnerable people who will live there, but stressed he and others had no problem with it being used to house vulnerable people. He said: "It's a situation where vulnerable people potentially could be moving into accommodation with an organisation that is under investigation by the Charity Commission due to [alleged] financial irregularities."
He added: "I also heard that they've been in touch with Luton Council and are now providing the facilities through Noble Tree for very vulnerable people, asylum seekers I believe, and [Luton Council] haven't gone through the due diligence process either."
A Grosvenor Hill spokesperson told the...
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