Ealing's shipping container estate to be closed by council

A London estate made from converted shipping containers is to close after council officials found it was "not fit for purpose".

Ealing Council said it would decommission Marston Court in Hanwell in 2023-24 as part of its new four-year plan for the west London borough.

Residents would be moved to temporary accommodation, the authority said.

The use of containers as homes has previously been described as "unsuitable" by critics.

At a full council meeting, it was heard the estate of metal boxes, built on the former site of a 1970s garage block, had been designed to be emergency accommodation.

But people were "suffering from violence, anti-social behaviour, fear of crime and housing that isn't up to scratch a number of years after it was introduced".

A report by housing and homeless charity Shelter previously said: "Housing families in unsuitable converted shipping containers for months at a time is a sad reflection of the housing crisis." 

The children's commissioner for England also previously found the use of shipping containers as temporary accommodation was leading to cramped conditions and inhospitable temperatures.

The Labour-run council said the estate was "not fit for purpose" and the plan to decommission it came with a pledge to "invest £20m in 100 new safe and secure places for people to stay", planned for over four years. 

Although the council said it would close Marston Court, it is yet to pledge the same commitment to its sister site, Meath Court in Acton. 

The authority promised to invest £400m in the council's housing over the next four years to ensure "everyone can live in a safe, secure and healthy home".

It said its plan also aimed to provide "4,000 new genuinely affordable homes across the borough".

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