Paraplegic’s problem in getting flat

Press, 21 April 1979, Page 6

Paraplegic’s problem in getting flat

A wheelchair-bound Christchurch man looking for a flat with facilities for the disabled said yesterday he had been told 11 months ago that he was at the top of a City Council waiting list. But council housing officers said they did not know of Mr T. A. Anderson’s specific need when flats with special facilities in Norman Kirk Courts became vacant, and they were let to other tenants.

They said the case emphasised the need for applicants to keep their needs in front of the council at all times, including their present whereabouts so that names were not deleted from waiting lists.

The housing and property director (Mr K. R. McNeil) said it had been difficult to find disabled applicants for the flats in the first place, and letters had been sent to all on the waiting list before Christmas, asking them to

confirm that they still wanted a flat. There had been no reply from Mr Anderson, who said he had not. received the letter. Mr Anderson said that he had shifted from a Peterborough Street address in midDecember, after living there for more than three years. But since then, he had shifted seven times, looking for a suitable flat. In one place, he had to negotiate 14 stairs to get to the bedroom. Toilet facilities were also a problem. “It’s the same story,” he said of the council’s explanation. “They shoot you a line as long as they can get away with it. “At first, they even put me off by telling me 1 was not disabled enough for one of the flats.” But when he had been placed first on the waiting list, he had been told he would have to wait only six weeks to two months for a flat.

Mr McNeil said the coun-i cil could not tell tenants to move out of specially equip-' ped flats once they had set-; tied down, and bought carpets and drapes. “The flats incorporate some design features making it easier for disabled people to live in, but they are not ideal,” he said. If there were no paraplegic applicants when such flats became vacant, they were rented to other persons. Mr Anderson said he had told the council of a change of address about five weeks ago, but was not told then that his name had been taken off the waiting list. “It’s a load of baloney about sending me a circular,” he said. Mr Anderson, aged 40, now works for Skope Enterprises. He said he had been “fighting for years to get a job” and now he could not get a satisfactory flat convenient to his work. He had been out 'of work for four years.