Frances Cottee Lodge

October

16

27 comments

The District Council has a responsibility towards homeless people in our area, and for a number of reasons it needs to do better. It costs the council  in the region of £400000 per year – in comparison , we spend £700,000 on street cleansing and £800,000 on parks and open spaces. And that money is spent on putting homeless families into accommodation in Southend which may not be of very good quality….

If a way can be found to put homeless people from our area into accommodation in our area that is cheaper but better quality, then that could be a great success.

So there’s a proposal to put homeless people into Frances Cottee Lodge in Rayleigh, which was built as sheltered housing for the elderly. From what we gather , the elderly people living there have been properly consulted, and from what we’ve seen on social media , generally seem to be OK. The intention is to move them all to other suitable (and actually probably better) accomodation.

However there seems to have been a lack of consultation with residents living nearby, and when people aren’t consulted  they worry about what’s happening.  (This sort of complaint about the Council not consulting residents is something we hear too often!)   The council is now trying to improve the situation by holding drop-in sessions at Rayleigh Methodist Church on Tuesday.

We will write in more depth on this when we have some answers to some of our own questions that we have asked on this issue.

 

 

 

 

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  • Thank you Chris for this post,

    indeed the lack of consultation is one of the big concerns, but I would like to understand the decision making process over the last few years, for instance the sale of former RDC owned offices in Acacia House in Rochford which have ended up as Homeless Accommodation for the London Borough of Harinygey. It was suggested by the opposition at the time that RDC could use the buildings for this very purpose.

    Are there other buildings available now ?

  • Another point worth considering is that we are losing 25 units from the sheltered housing pool, these will not be replaced
    This is a change in housing policy which hasn’t been discussed by the council

  • I attended drop in session about Frances Cottee Lodge, in Clarence Rd, change of use to temporary accommodation for the homeless. It posed more questions than it answered unfortunately.
    There were two sessions on the 18th October, that were probably attended by over 100 people per session, and at both there was plenty of heated discussion and a few people storming out, on the other side of the coin I spoke to a couple of people who were assuaged, and on reflection supported the proposal.
    Publicity for this event and in fact the whole project had been limited to two limited leaflet drops of about 30 each time, it only got wider circulation when concerned neighbours took it upon themselves to widen the distribution by delivering another 400 or so.
    Why the secrecy? Rochford District Council in particular should be ashamed that once again it has been caught out trying to slip a controversial decision through without adequate consultation and presenting a fait accompli.
    I felt sorry for the Council Officials and the representatives of Rochford Housing/Sanctuary who seemed surprised at the numbers attending, and then they had to justify what is essentially a political decision to preserve the councils budget, not a humanitarian move to provide better accommodation.
    Whilst any liberal person would realise that homelessness could happen to anyone; we are all a couple of rent/mortgage payments away especially in these times so a degree of humility is helpful.
    The Councillor responsible for Housing, June Lumley, was absent.
    The Rochford Housing representatives told us they were a business and had to be run with that in mind. They do not have the funding to upgrade the buildings with the significant refurbishment that they need to accommodate older people. They failed to answer for how long this had been identified and why since 2007 (when they took over from RDC), they hadn’t taken to redress this.
    The whole project is predicated on moving out the existing tenants to other accommodation, and then refurbishing the buildings for temporary homeless individuals and families.
    A lady who lived in Poplar Rd had even visited the residents last weekend and was told by them that they did not want to leave but felt intimidated into it by the council. They are being compensated for losing their homes but what price can be put on the potential loss of independence and in particular community that this accommodation provides for them. They are now faced being separated from long term friends.
    This also means a reduction in Sheltered Accommodation for elderly of 25 units which will not be replaced within the housing stock available, who took that decision
    At the afternoon session the two councillors present, Cllr Ian Ward, and Cllr Robert Milne seemed more concerned with defending the decision rather than the concerns of their voters in particular those being forced to move against their will.
    Rochford District Council does indeed have a duty to home their residents, but is this right way and is it located in the correct place.
    It was confirmed that the new ‘residents to be’ will be from the Rochford Council homeless register and will include families and other individuals some of whom may have alcohol and drug addiction problems and other mental health requirements.
    Cllr Ian Ward also stated that it was ONLY Frances Cottee Lodge that was affected but apparently once the residents have vacated Clarence Rd flats they will be brought into the scheme too so it is the whole site at the end of Clarence Rd.
    One major concern is that although an office will be on site and people will visit daily (from Sanctuary housing presumably) there will be no 24/7 caretaker or warden to deal with problems as they will inevitably occur outside office hours. Is it ok for vulnerable people to be placed in this accommodation without appropriate back up?
    I have asked is there other accommodation available that Rochford District Council could use? Such as the office block in Rochford which in 2013 was sold by them, converted to flats and sold to the London Borough of Haringey you’ve guessed it for their homeless.
    There are so many unanswered questions, but one glimmer of hope at the evening session Cllr Ian Ward did say that there was a similar planning issue once before where it was eventually refused/reversed based upon the sheer level of objections and protest for local residents.
    Maybe the next step is a Community Town hall meeting arranged by our ward councillors as this drop in didn’t work for RDC to fully understand our concerns

  • Richard , as discussed by e mail , this is an emotive issue that might well appeal to the BBC Look East ( Inside Out programme ) – that would get the
    word out to a broader audience. Who is /are the Councillor’s who represent
    the Clarence Rd area ?.

  • The OP wrote in the article “We will write in more depth on this when we have some answers to some of our own questions that we have asked on this issue.”

    Has the Onlinefocus Team had any answers to your own questions please?

  • When, Why and by Whom was the property leased to the Rochford Housing Association by the Council? What happened to the Covenant? When the decision for the lease was made by the Council was the decision taken in the knowledge of the existence of the Covenant? What stimulated the Rochford Housing Association recently to exercise its right under the lease to obtain the freehold, presumably at no cost? Was the Council involved in this decision in any way? Who, When, Where?

  • This is what I have so far. You will notice that several of my questions have not been answered. So I have asked again.

    A Council decision was made on the 26 June 2007 to transfer the housing stock. The exempt minute makes reference to on going negotiations with regards to the Sheltered Housing Schemes and that “the business plan recognised a number of low demand schemes are expected to be available for remodelling in the future and the transfer arrangements should provide for the use of those assets to be determined by the Council to accord with the Council’s Housing Strategy priorities”. Subject to satisfactory outcome of the negotiations with regards to the schemes the Transfer Agreement was approved and entered into for the housing stock with a provision for the future use of the sheltered housing schemes to help meet RDC’s housing needs.

    It was agreed that RHA would be granted a long leasehold of 99 years, and the permitted use under the lease would be for sheltered accommodation for the elderly or any other such Social Housing Use as agreed from time to time. This other Social Housing Use is to assist persons in housing need and has been utilised as such from time to time since 2007. With regards to the Covenants on the land, (I am assuming you are referring to the same Covenant raised in a query by a resident), there were no Covenants directly relating to restricting the use of the property for the elderly. The lease (as referenced in the Transfer Agreement) contained an option to purchase the freehold reversions at any time by RHA and this option was valid until the end of the lease (2106).

  • More information from the Council in answer to my questions.

    The value of FCL was taken into consideration at the time of the transfers and formed part of the total contract price. Consideration for the Transfer of the freehold was subsequently at a nominal value of £1 as per the terms of the contract. The stock transfer would have been negotiated between the parties prior to completion in 2007.

    The option to purchase could be triggered by RHA at any time. However it is understood that RDC was informed of their intention to purchase the freehold when they approached the Council for agreement to transfer the management of the stock from RHA into Sanctuary (deed of variation). Triggering the option was not a decision that could have been taken by the Council, nor could we have refused to transfer under the contract. RHA could trigger this option as long as the property continues to be used for social housing, as proposed, and in essence align with our housing needs priority.

    The use of the premises for any other such Social Housing Use as agreed from time to time was an obligation under the lease and agreed between the parties as part of the stock transfer.

    An Exempt report was presented and approved by Council on the 8 June 2016 setting out the obligations under the deed of variation, including their intention to trigger the purchase of the freehold. A copy of the legal agreement was appended showing the proposals for Frances Cottee to provide accommodation let on licence.

  • Richard, apologies for not responding to you sooner about this, but I have some personal difficulties at the moment. I’m not really trying to be mysterious!

    Back on October 13th (before I posted anything here) I asked the following questions:

    Approximately how much money will RDC save by this?
    How many units are there at Frances Cottee Lodge, would they all be considered as ‘sheltered’ housing?
    How many are being converted for the homeless? How many homeless adults are expected to move in, and how many children?
    Will the units for homeless people be in one group or is there “pepper potting?”?
    What are the overall number of sheltered housing units in the district ,and what is the level of demand- ie how many vacancies and how long is th waiting list?
    What is the level of demand at Frances Cottee Lodge in recent months- ie how many vacancies and how long is the waiting list?
    How were existing residents at the Lodge consulted? What was the response?
    Were any neighbouring residents consulted? What was the response?
    How was this proposal agreed by the council, procedurally?
    Are the people moving in all previously Rochford District Residents?
    What are the criteria that RDC are using to select who moves in – individual need, suitability for ‘fitting in’ at the Lodge , or a mixture of both?
    Is any impact expected on local school places?
    How will RDC deal with any ‘problem tenants’

    Because I was chasing for information quickly the council simply referred me to an updated questions and answers leaflet that RDC had just produced, the whole text is too cumbersome to copy here, but some of it is shown below. It answers most of my questions but still left some gaps. I have also been following other questions, from people like yourself and John . (Your questions were better than mine , John!)

    Rochford Housing is working in partnership with Rochford District Council to refurbish the accommodation at Frances Cottee Lodge to become housing for local people with urgent housing needs. Residents at Frances Cottee Lodge have been made aware of our plans and over time, will be assisted to move to new accommodation.

    The 15 flats will be offered to families, couples and individuals who have been made homeless. Local accommodation ensures families can stay in the district and children can continue to attend their school.

    Residents at our flats in Clarence Road have also been consulted and given the option to move to another sheltered scheme if they wish. As vacancies arise, these flats will be let to people who have applied to Rochford District Council or Rochford Housing for a home. These will no longer be restricted to over 55 year olds.

    Temporary housing is much needed in Rochford district. Frances Cottee Lodge will be used to house people who have a local connection to the district such as those living here, working here or who have family who live here.

    The accommodation will be closely managed by Rochford Housing and Rochford District Council and offers better value for Council Tax payers than the use of bed and breakfast accommodation which can also be unsettling for children’s schooling.

    We have issued a flyer to local households regarding the changes and arranged two drop in sessions at Rayleigh Methodist Church on Tuesday 18 October for residents to meet with staff.

    We also have information available on the council and housing association’s websites.

    Rochford Housing is working in partnership with Rochford District Council to refurbish the accommodation at Frances Cottee Lodge to become housing for local people with urgent housing needs. Residents at Frances Cottee Lodge have been made aware of our plans and over time, will be assisted to move to new accommodation.

    The 15 flats will be offered to families, couples and individuals who have been made homeless. Local accommodation ensures families can stay in the district and children can continue to attend their school.

    Residents at our flats in Clarence Road have also been consulted and given the option to move to another sheltered scheme if they wish. As vacancies arise, these flats will be let to people who have applied to Rochford District Council or Rochford Housing for a home. These will no longer be restricted to over 55 year olds.

    Temporary housing is much needed in Rochford district. Frances Cottee Lodge will be used to house people who have a local connection to the district such as those living here, working here or who have family who live here.

    The accommodation will be closely managed by Rochford Housing and Rochford District Council and offers better value for Council Tax payers than the use of bed and breakfast accommodation which can also be unsettling for children’s schooling.

    We have issued a flyer to local households regarding the changes and arranged two drop in sessions at Rayleigh Methodist Church on Tuesday 18 October for residents to meet with staff.
    We also have information available on the council and housing association’s websites.

    We are agreeing timescales with the residents at Frances Cottee Lodge on an individual basis, dependent on what accommodation becomes available. It is likely that the temporary accommodation will be fully operational by summer 2017.

    Rochford Housing is part of Sanctuary Housing, a not-for-profit housing association. Our core charitable purpose is providing homes and care services to those who need them. We manage around 2,000 homes in the Rochford District area and work very closely with Rochford District Council.

    We have been managing temporary accommodation across a range of properties across the Rochford District since 2007.
    Any surplus money is invested in communities and services in the local area, including Maureen’s Gift, a well-known local community investment scheme.

    We wanted to speak to all of the residents who live at the scheme first, so they could consider our plans and discuss it with their families. It is only right that they were informed first and the initial meeting took place in August. We are now in the process of letting local residents know what is happening.

    Rochford District Council does not own its own stock and therefore, has no empty properties that might be suitable. The Council continues however, to work with social housing providers, empty property owners and developers, to explore ways in which empty properties can be bought back into use, particularly for affordable rented accommodation.

    Planning permission is not required to change the use of Frances Cottee Lodge. The property is already deemed to be categorised for general residential use and is not restricted to supported accommodation.
    Planning permission to alter the front of the building will be submitted, detailing car parking and entrance alterations. As part of this process, these details will be available for the public to comment on.

    Frances Cottee Lodge will be managed according to the needs of our residents. There will be regular on site presence by staff to ensure residents are happy and settled and that any issues are managed appropriately. The scheme will continue to have CCTV.

    There will be a legal agreement between each resident and Rochford Housing setting out the obligations of each party and any breaches will be addressed. The scheme will continue to be managed by us and any issues can be referred to us using the following contact details:

    We manage many temporary accommodation schemes around the country and, in our experience, house prices have not been affected.

    Yes, we have a responsibility to find our residents a suitable alternative home, and will work with them and Rochford District Council to try and find accommodation in their preferred areas.

    We recognise that Frances Cottee Lodge falls short of our usual standard for older persons but do not believe that reinvestment alone will make it fit for purpose in the longer term.

    There is a good supply of sheltered accommodation across the district provided by both housing associations and private organisations. Once Frances Cottee Lodge closes, six sheltered schemes managed by housing associations will remain in Rayleigh providing 219 flats. There are a further 13 social housing sheltered schemes across the rest of the district. There has been a decline in demand for this type of accommodation over recent years, evidenced by a fall in the number of people applying to Rochford District Council from 161 in 2009 to 71 currently.
    In addition to the accommodation listed below, there is also be a supply of private supported housing accommodation which exists in the district.

    RAYLEIGH 6 (excluding Frances Cottee Lodge)
    219
    HOCKLEY 4
    130

    HULLBRIDGE
    1
    30
    GREAT WAKERING
    3
    75
    ROCHFORD
    5
    145

    The table below shows the number of households registered with Rochford District Council for housing between April and October 2016. 629 households are currently registered for non-sheltered (or general needs) housing and 71 for sheltered accommodation across the district….

  • FRANCES COTTEE LODGE & CLARENCE ROAD FLATS
    SIGN OUR PETITION

    Myself and some of the near neighbours in Clarence Rd have launched an e-petition, with a view to get the council to reverse the decision to remove the over 55 stipulation on these properties.

    The proposal to move in homeless families is unfair on the existing residents are largely in their 70/80’s and we contend that this site and the area it is sited in is inappropriate for Rochford’s homeless.
    The council also has the opportunity to use empty offices it owns in South Street Rochford, which could be quicker and less distressing especially to the old folk being evicted and rehoused.

    Also. another alternative for the homeless would be to buy properties on the open market for use by the “temporary” homeless without reducing the housing available to the elderly

    https://rochford.cmis.uk.com/rochford/EPetitions/tabid/90/Sign/24/Sign-Against-the-change-in-use-of-Frances-Cottee-Lodge-Clarence-Road-Flats.aspx

  • RDC’s support for this idea disappoints, but does not surprise me. It represents RDC’s failure to provide adequate levels of social housing.
    Both sheltered accommodation and housing for the homeless is required and converting sheltered to temporary accommodation for the homeless is inappropriate.
    The fact that there are 71 persons looking for sheltered accommodation indicates that there should be no reduction in the available sheltered accommodation.
    RDC local strategy plan was justified on the need to provide adequate levels of social housing. The level of social housing that will be delivered by RDC’s local plan is obviously inadequate. Too much priority has been given to providing market housing at social housings expense.
    RDC needs to see that more social housing in all forms is built than its local plans currently deliver.
    This idea is a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul, disrupting the lives of current elderly residents and delivering a stop gap solution to the homeless.
    Why provide temporary accommodation to the homeless, when a real home is required. Why disrupt the lives of the current incumbents if they are happy in these homes?

  • Yes indeed, more social housing, more places for people with problems, more hostels, more affordable houses….as long as they are nowhere near my property. I’m willing to bet that some of the “posters” on this thread could not give a tinkers cuss if it did not affect them directly.

  • Why does all new housing seem to be 4 bedroom detached and not starter homes. The change at Francis Cottee Lodge seem certain to happen.It has started already. There are 15 places for homeless families, single people will still be in bedsits in Southend. These families will not be alcoholic, drug ridden sex offenders but quite possibly decent hard working people who due to jobless or illness cannot keep up payments. A little more understanding and compassion please.

    • I agree with you wholeheartedly Bruce! Anyone can experience life changing circumstances & find themselves in dire straits. Yes, this does happen in Rochford & Rayleigh, & it’s a devastating, humiliating, embarrassing situation for most people. A small flat is so much better than a grotty B&B or bedsit in Southend. Somehow these families have to re-build their lives, maintain a job & look after their children.
      I suggest the critics actually speak to a few homeless people, or visit Harp & the Night Shelter. More love & less demonising of those less fortunate than ourselves would be a lovely start to 2017!
      The definition of elderly is no longer clear. We are living longer & remaining active into our 70’s & 80’s. “Sheltered Housing” was a new phenomenon in the 1960’s & 70’s, but over the last 20 -30 years, older people have developed higher expectations & want to remain in their own home for as long as possible.
      If this type of accommodation can be put to practical use, we should at least keep an open mind.

  • We are all astounded that the older generation are again being pushed aside when they have contributed all their lives and the existing residence are being subjected to an intrusion to their current way of life.
    The accommodation was originally for residence over 55 and whilst there is still a need for this type of property it should not be taken away.
    If the homeless are in need then other places should be found and not penalise the existing residence of an established site.

  • The Petition gathers pace

    FRANCES COTTEE LODGE PETITION
    Great news we are now well past the first milestone of 750 (currently 797) which means that the Review Committee of the council has to discuss it, when we get to 1500 the full council will be obliged to include it in a regular meeting.
    This is a great success and response from the RAG group, ( and others) also a reaction to traditional leafleting 400 currently being delivered in the immediate area around FCL.
    If you haven’t already done so please login and sign in to show this Conservative Council that we care about our elderly and want them to look at alternatives for the Temporary Homeless
    ,
    They have empty offices in South Street Rochford which could be used,

    https://rochford.cmis.uk.com/rochford/EPetitions/tabid/90/Sign/24/Sign-Against-the-change-in-use-of-Frances-Cottee-Lodge-Clarence-Road-Flats.aspx

  • Mr & Mrs Patrick, you state, and I quote ” If the homeless are in need then other places should be found”. Perhaps you could suggest where those places should be. I don’t know why people are not more truthful, nobody wants a homeless hostel anywhere near their own property……I don’t and nor do you.

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