Canterbury: Relocated families complain about Howe Barracks homes

Families at risk of homelessness who were relocated from London to a former barracks in Kent have complained of a lack of secure tenancies.

The families from the London borough of Redbridge voluntarily moved to Canterbury's Howe Barracks after asking their council for help.

Redbridge Council said it would continue engaging with tenants on their long-term housing needs.

Caroline moved to the estate in 2016 after living in a hostel room.

She had lived there with her young son for more than a year, and said that while life in Canterbury was "better" than in London, her two-bed home felt "only temporary".

Caroline, who is in her 50s, said: "Temporary should be a year, not this long. We have just been moved here and left here and nobody worries about us.

"It's uncertain, at the end they could say 'you have to move'."

A couple with children, who declined to be named, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service they were "grateful" for the chance to move out of London but concerned that unlike social housing tenants they would never have a right to buy their home.

A single mother, who also asked to stay anonymous, said she felt "completely isolated" from her support network since she and her son moved in 2020.

She accepted a home on the Kent estate after falling homeless and staying in a "horrible" temporary flat in London, provided by Redbridge Council.

She added: "[Redbridge Council] said if I moved back to the borough they would put me in a hotel.

"They offered me Sunderland the other day, they said they have nice places there - it's beyond ridiculous."

In a statement Redbridge Council said: "Redbridge, like the rest of London, is in the grip of a severe housing crisis and to meet our statutory duties we accommodate households out of London where there is a lack of accommodation locally."

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