Residents still "in limbo" as plans are reviewed
Controversial evictions of residents living in police-owned homes in Raynes Park have been called off while plans are reviewed.
Evictions from the properties in Raynesfield started last month, and were due to be completed by tomorrow (November 4).
The Mayor's Office for Police and Crime (MOPAC) has been selling off residential properties across London as part of their 2013-16 Estate Strategy.
A number of the residents facing eviction are key workers such as nurses and teaching assistants. Campaigners called for the Mayor of London to think again about the plans.
And MOPAC stopped the evictions last week, telling the Raynesfield residents it is "currently reviewing the position regarding their residential portfolio in London."
It is not yet clear if the review applies to tenants in Griffiths Road, South Wimbledon, who were also threatened with eviction.
Lib Dem Councillor Mary-Jane Jeanes said: "The tenants of Raynesfield are in limbo once again – their sleepless nights of worry continue. Some people, to try and reduce their storage bills, gave furniture away. Others moved their belongings into storage on Tuesday and found that the eviction proceedings were halted that evening - so they have paid unnecessarily for van hire and storage and now have to get their furniture back to Raynesfield. People are paying to get their phone, water etc reconnected.
"There are clear financial implications requiring compensation and MOPAC needs to act straight away to correct these injustices. On top of this, how can the stress and sleepless nights endured by our neighbours in Raynesfield be measured?"
November 3, 2014
|