Housing (From Barry And District News)

Housing

I REFER to recent articles and a letter in the Barry and District News relating to the volume of boarded-up properties in the Colcot area particularly at St Michaels Gardens.

I can assure Councillor James that I have previously expressed concern at the dangers with the Council"s strategy of housing vulnerable groups of people together at the same location like St Michael"s Gardens.

I wrote to Councillor John Thomas in October 2003 and part of my letter expressed worries about the proposals to de-designate Monmouth Way and Pontalun Close flats from pensioner use.

It was quite clear to many members of the two communities in the Gibbonsdown Ward that the proposed changes would result in grouping many homeless young people with potentially difficult lifestyles together.

Local residents at several meetings argued that it would prove unsatisfactory for those tenants and the existing local community, and one only has to visit the empty, vandalised and boarded-up flats in St Michael"s Gardens to witness the folly of that approach.

Empty properties that are boarded up for long periods of time not only blight the locality, they highlight an expensive and inefficient process and they also take homes away from the community.

Despite chasing my correspondence with a further letter and receiving a commitment from Councillor Thomas at a public meeting that he would reply, I am yet to receive a response from the Council.

Dennis Harkus

Town Councillor for Gibbonsdown

(lett by e-mail)