Wiltshire social housing tenants still in hotels four months after fire

Social housing tenants who lost their home in a fire are still living in a hotel, four months on.

All 16 households from Sandell Place in Amesbury had to be evacuated after a large fire hit their flats in June. While some residents have been rehomed, six households are still in hotels.

Housing association Stonewater said they had "exhausted" their options and were struggling to find alternatives.

"You always feel low, you don't want to get out of bed," one tenant said.

Tamara Hughes added it had been "horrible" living in a hotel with her two-year-old for four months. Her teenager lives in the hotel room next door.

Due to her credit rating and income, she says "private landlords won't even look at us", and in the absence of any available social housing she is hoping to move in with friends or family instead.

Her neighbour Ben Appleby is another of those stuck in the hotel.

"It doesn't matter how big or small it is, I just need my own space", he said.

Wiltshire Council's housing register could potentially offer him residency in Chippenham or Trowbridge, but he needs to remain in Amesbury as he cares for his mother here, he added.

The council estimates there are around 4,000 people on the housing waiting list.

Stonewater is providing tenants displaced by the fire with additional payments to fund the costs of living in a hotel, such as food and laundry.

"We do understand how stressful this must be for residents", said David Lockerman, Stonewater's head of housing operations.

"We are actually at a point where we are seeking to buy properties on the open market for residents to rent", he said.

He said the restructure of the British Army to bring thousands more soldiers and their families into Wiltshire had added to the pressures of "really challenging" housing supply.

"The system is broken, it needs fixing," Conservative council leader Richard Clewer told BBC Politics West.

He said housing associations shoulder some of the blame for the shortage of stock, describing a "significant failure" in some of their businesses models in recent decades.

He said the private market was failing to deliver enough affordable homes, and the council was starting to deliver hundreds more council-owned social housing.

"We're doing everything we can but that isn't enough," he added.

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