Thorney Bay Village evicted couple moved to 'unsuitable' home

Andrew Edhouse, 64 and his partner, Carol Streatham, 66, were hit with an eviction notice from their static home on Canvey’s Thorney Bay Village and were ordered to leave by October 22.

The couple, after failing to move into a flat in Basildon, were place in the Campanile Hotel with no kitchen, fridge or microwave by Castle Point Council – something they appealed against as they feared being forced to pay themselves for their stay.

Now Andrew and Carol have been moved to a two-bed temporary house in Stanford-le-Hope but are facing further issues as the property has two flights of stairs, which Carol struggles to climb following a recent battle with endometrial cancer.

The couple’s eviction follows the mass eviction of people living at Thorney Bay Village which, at its peak, included 150 homes but is now believed to only have four left.

Andrew, while pleased to be out of the one-room hotel, wants to see the couple moved to somewhere more fitting for Carol’s needs.

He said: “She can’t do the stairs, and it is two flights in the house. She struggles with them where she has had cancer treatment, and she broke down the other day.

“She gets out of breath, she gets into panic mode, and she broke down in tears. It is mainly because of the cancer treatment which has affected her back, so she is in a lot of pain.

“Honestly, the actual property itself is really nice, but it is the stairs that are bad, and Carol is going to have to suffer but she doesn’t want to go back to the hotel room.

“The council have said it is temporary, and we did fill in a form with them about this.”

Carol is still required to travel to Southend Hospital for cancer scans every three months – something Andrew additionally fears the impact of.

Rob Lillis, Castle Point councillor responsible for health, wellbeing and housing said: “The council are unable to comment on individual cases.

“When considering suitable accommodation, the council takes into account applicants’ circumstances.

“However with limited options of interim accommodation available we have to prioritise meeting the basic needs of safe and secure accommodation for applicants.”