Grieving widow has been "treated badly" by SHP (From Your Local Guardian)

Angela Green to be evicted from Carshalton home despite 7,000 signatures

11:30am Friday 15th June 2012 in Sutton By James Pepper

Sutton Council are not stopping plans to evict a grieving widow from her home despite a 7,000 signature petition to oppose it.

Angela Green, 29, lost her mother to cancer two years ago, then in March her husband Darren Green was killed in a car crash in Mitcham before tragedy struck for a third time weeks later when her father died.

Sutton Housing Partnership (SHP), who manage Mrs Green's home on Wrythe Lane, Carshalton, sent her a letter only a month after her father Jim's death to tell her she has to move out of the home she has lived in her whole life.

At a council meeting this week (Tuesday) councillors agreed the SHP had acted properly in doing so as a council tenancy can only be passed on to a relative once.

Mrs Green, who hopes to foster a child in her family home, said after the meeting the council discussions were "pointless" as the decision had already been made.

A disheartened Mrs Green said: "What is the point in having a 7,000 signature petition if the council still don't listen. The decision had been done, they didn't pay any attention to the petition. I feel like it has been a waste of time in coming.

"We are not giving up. I have never asked the council for anything, all I want to do is stay in the home I have lived in all my life and where I have memories of people I have loved and lost."

SHP has said to Mrs Green she has to move out of her three bedroom house and have offered her a one bedroom flat as an alternative.

At the meeting, Simon Letham, executive head of community living at Sutton Council, said the decision had been made as there was a three year waiting list for three bedroom houses.

He also said it would be "unlikely" Mrs Green would be rehoused before September, but couldn't guarantee the Mrs Green would be rehoused near her remaining family.

Leader of the council Ruth Dombey admitted Mrs Green "had been treated badly" after it emerged council tax bills had been sent to her addressed to her deceased father Jim.

Councillor Jayne McCoy, chairman of economy and business committee on Sutton council, said: "We understand that this is very emotive issue, and have the deepest sympathy for Mrs Green at this unimaginably difficult time.

"We are doing everything we are legally able to do to help Mrs Green and after discussions with SHP we have agreed that she will be given three months from now before any more contact is made about moving to a different property."