ALMOST an entire street are being evicted from their homes after a giant food company gobbled up their road.
The 11 households claim their lives have been wrecked after being served eviction notices on their rented bungalows – with most of them told to go by October 16.
8
8
Residents who have always paid their rent on time have condemned their eviction as “heartless” after being given little over the legal minimum of two months notice.
They now face having to pay hundreds of pounds more a month to live in other comparable rental properties if they are unable to get council accommodation.
The Section 21 eviction notices have been sent out by the pork and poultry processing firm Cranswick Country Foods which recently bought the homes from another landlord.
The plans will see workers employed by Cranswick move into the homes.
Residents are begging for more time to look for new homes, but the company has so far refused to let them stay longer in their bungalows on Feltwell Farm near Feltwell, Norfolk.
The villagers are also upset about not being offered any compensation to pay for moving expenses and to make up for money they have spent on improving their properties.
They believe the firm should be doing more to help them as it has an annual turnover of £2 billion and current annual profits of £140 million.
Retired delivery driver Malcolm Nurse, 71, and his wife Anne, 70, who have lived in their three bedroom home for six years, said: “It’s an impossible situation.
Most read in Money
“How are we expected to find anywhere else to live in two months?
“But the company is not communicating with anyone. Several of the residents have been on the phone to them, and they have just been fobbed off.”
The couple – who pay £695 a month in rent – love the area for it being so quiet but fear they will be charged through the teeth in a new rental.
Self-employed YouTube content maker Roger Michael, 39, who lives with his wife and their two children, said: “The eviction letters came out of the blue.
‘RUTHLESS’
“I know they are a business and they have to make profits – but their behaviour is ruthless to say the least… It is disgusting.”
He claimed the landlord gave his family “the impression that we could stay here as long as we wanted” with the possibility of buying the home further down the line.
But these dreams have been dashed and the pill harder to swallow given the thousands residents have spent on improvements.
Roger explained: “We have spent £1,000 on new garden fencing and we will have to leave that behind.”
“My ten-year-old son is suspected of having ADHD or Asperger’s and if he has to move to a new school, it could be a disaster for him”, he added.
Cleaning supervisor Ryan Baez, 46, who has lived with his wife and four of their children in their house for seven years is devastated and wants compensation.
“We have decorated the place from top to bottom and spent a lot of money making it homely.
“I just feel we have been shafted as we didn’t know this was going to happen.”
Ryan has rung Craswick head office four times but never gets beyond a call handler.
Former soldier and farm worker Malcolm Lewis, 64, who is now disabled fears he and his 11-year-old dog Jack will be homeless when they are forced to leave his £420-a-month one bedroom bungalow.
I have put in a bike and skateboard ramp in the garden for them and we have planted flowerbeds so they can remember their mum – but we will have to leave it all behind
Nick Barker
He said: “It is really difficult to find a place where I can live with my dog, and I cannot give him up.”
Odd job man Nick Barker, 30, who has been caring for his sons Tyler, 13, and Leo, seven, since his partner Stacey Siegert died suddenly two-years ago, said: “It’s absolutely heartbreaking.
“I have put in a bike and skateboard ramp in the garden for them and we have planted flowerbeds so they can remember their mum – but we will have to leave it all behind.”
The dad has asked the council for help, but doesn’t feel they can do anything.
A Cranswick spokesperson said: “Cranswick takes this matter very seriously.
“We appreciate this is a difficult time for those concerned and are engaging with them. Any action taken has been done in accordance with due legal process and within the terms of our contractual agreements.”
A spokesperson for the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk said: “When someone contacts us and tells us they are homeless or at risk of homelessness, we will do everything we can to help them.
“We will ask them for some information about their circumstances and assess their need against certain criteria laid down in homelessness legislation, which includes whether they are a vulnerable person.
“Once we have completed our assessment we will consider how their immediate needs can be addressed.
“This may include options ranging from giving advice and assistance to maintain their current accommodation to the immediate provision of temporary accommodation while they are looking for a longer-term solution.
“We have already been contacted by some of the families and we are supporting them.”
8
8
8
8
8
8
