A desperate Hereford family has been saved from the threat of Christmas misery after a local councillor persuaded housing bosses to make an 11th-hour U-turn.
The Mason family, of Plover Close, Newton Farm, had been told to leave the house in which they had lived for three years because the owner wants to sell it.
Eddie Mason, 37, recently lost his job as a taxi driver – and his driving licence – after being diagnosed with epilepsy.
His wife Sam, 30, who has painful rheumatoid arthritis and can sometimes hardly walk, is trying to keep the family’s head above water by working part-time as a cleaner at the South Wye Academy.
Their eldest son Sean, 12, has learning difficulties and gets extra support at the Academy, while his brother Josh, 11, has Crohn’s Disease, and needs to be taken for treatment to Birmingham Children’s Hospital. The youngest boy, Ashley, six, attends Riverside School.
Local Independent Herefordshire Councillor Glenda Powell said the Masons were at their wits’ end because the only house offered them was in Leominster.
“If they did not accept a move there, they would be judged as having made themselves homeless,” she said.
“I told the housing department that that was ridiculous. A move to Leominster would mean Mrs Mason would lose her job, and the family would have to go on benefits.
“It would throw Sean back two years in his education. The other children would have to move schools, too.I have said firmly that they can’t go there. There has to be a house in Hereford – I know of one in Redhill, and another in Charlton Avenue that has been empty for a month.
“Mrs Mason is the only breadwinner. We should be trying to get people off benefits, not on them. She is disabled, and in pain, but she is trying hard to support her family. We should be helping people like that. It couldn’t come at a worse time of year, with three children, a low income, and Christmas coming. It’s distressing to be threatened with homelessness and offered a move to an area which is not suitable.”
She said the Masons met every one of the criteria necessary to be accepted as homeless by Herefordshire Council.
They were eligible for assistance, they had priority status, they were unintentionally homeless and they had local connections, as Mr and Mrs Mason were born and bred in Hereford.
“I told the head of strategic housing that we are not here to use bully boy tactics but to help people in need – which is what I was elected to do. Now I’m glad to story has a happy ending – it’s an early Christmas present”, said Councillor Powell.
Mrs Mason told the Journal: “I could not be any happier, and I cannot thank Councillor Powell enough for her help.
“We dreaded going to Leominster. The boys’ education was the most important issue, and it’s fantastic that we can stay in Newton Farm. We tried for so long to get a house, and now there’s one on the doorstep after we were so close to having to sign the paperwork to go to Leominster”.
lThe Journal Says – Page 4
