TORBAY'S HOUSING NIGHTMARE - LIB DEMS

5.26.27pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 3rd Oct 2005

The McKenzie Family like many Torbay families face problems with over-crowding.

TORBAY'S homeless crisis is destroying families claims Mayoral candidate Nick Pannell.

Nick, who is standing for the Liberal Democrats has been in contact with two local families who he says are "existing in appalling, overcrowded conditions that exposes the utter inadequacy of affordable and social housing in Torbay."

Nick said: "I have made it my business to get in contact with people on the housing waiting list and it's been a real eye-opener. Behind each of the 3641 applicants on the Torbay Housing Register is a story and in the two families I contacted it was a sad, depressing one.

"One family of four I met had been split up because Torbay Council was not prepared to accommodate the oldest child who was over 18.

"The basement flat was damp and depressing, and the splitting up of the family also had an impact on the 14-year-old daughter.

"When people have no proper place to live lives go to pieces, which has a greater cost to society than the price of a decent flat.

"The family have been told that there is such a shortage of social housing that they could be living in the council funded let for two years. The cost is £287 a week which is falling on local ratepayers.

"This is a local family that has lived in Torbay all their lives but their council cannot help them."

The second family that Nick visited was the McKenzie family.

Nick said: "I have never seen such over-crowded conditions. The parents Phyllis and Lance have to sleep in the same room as their teenage son and daughter, who are stuck in bunks. They have lived like that for the last two years."

Phyllis was born in Torquay and she admits that strain of life in the tiny flat is damaging the family: "We've nearly split up twice, we argue all the time and are very stressed.

"We're in the Gold Band but we are told there are still families who are worse off and well ahead of us in the queue."

"My 16-year-old son has offered to live home so we can apply for a two bedroom flat but I want to keep the family together."

Nick Pannell revealed that there were 692 families on the Gold Band in the register and believes that figure can only increase.

He said: "Most cities around the country have 20 per cent social housing; in the Westcountry that falls to 13 per cent and in Torbay is right down to eight per cent. That symbolizes an historic failure of successive councils to provide for homeless families. It should be a priority for the new Mayor."