Portsmouth residents react to closure of housing blocks

Plans to close tower blocks in Somerstown have left some residents “absolutely buzzing”, while others are sad to leave “beautiful friendships” behind.

Residents have shared largely positive feelings about potentially moving out of Somerstown tower blocks as the council considers plans to close them.

Portsmouth City Council will decide on August 5 whether to decant and close Barkis and Nickleby House in Buckland, and Edgbaston and Tipton House in Somerstown.

The towers are safe, but extensive work is needed to meet current and future building safety laws and regulations.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service spoke with Buckland residents on 28 July, who expressed mixed feelings about the plans.

Today, we spoke with Somerstown residents about the proposed move.

When asked how he felt after being told about the plans on Monday, Kyle Highley, who has lived in Edgbaston House for 10 years, said he was “absolutely buzzing”.

He said he lives with his partner, who has been trying to move out of the block for the past 20 years because of health issues and overcrowding.

“On the other side there’s some old people who are really gutted.”

He said his household needs a three-bedroom property, preferably in Portsmouth, and that their living situation had become so “depressing” they were considering moving to Yorkshire.

Now that they might be moving out, they “couldn’t be happier”.

Ranjar Ali, who has lived in Edgbaston House for four years, raised concerns about the £8,100 each household will receive as a support package.

He said he has spent around £6,000 on flooring and decorating, arguing that the support package may not be “suitable” for some residents.

He said he struggles with disabilities and mental health conditions after being injured in the 2017 bombings in Iraq, his home country.

Mr Ali came to the UK in 2018. He has since undergone operations on his head, knee and back, and lost hearing in his left ear.

He said he is worried that he, and other disabled residents in the block, will be able to find suitable homes that meet their needs.

“My wife said we should be happy because we might get a property on the ground floor or a house.”

He added that there is a “good community” in the block and that his family enjoys using the garden.

Another Edgbaston resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said she “couldn’t be any happier” to move out as she has “had nothing but problems”.

She said these included persistent drug use in the block and communal areas, as well as a bed bug outbreak “that’s being going on for two years”.

“I went around with a petition and 54 flats had bed bugs, I took it over to the council and they did nothing about it.

“We wanted to leave since two years ago because of the bed bugs, we’ve gone through four sofas, six mattresses and the council did nothing to help us.

“We’re on benefits and to replace everything six seven times it was impossible.”

She said older residents were less positive about the plans.

“Older people aren’t happy, they’re going to lose their friends and community.

“With the old people I feel sorry for them because they have a community down here, they do bingo and everything down here.”

When asked whether she feels safe living in the block, she said: “No, we had someone be stabbed on our floor, it’s not safe, far from it”.

Another Edgbaston resident, who has lived in the block for 20 years, said it was a “bit of a shock” when she found out.

“Part of me doesn’t want to go, part of me wouldn’t mind a fresh break.

“We have a lovely community, a lot of us don’t want to leave but we know we have to. It’s sad because we’ve got beautiful friendships here – i’ve watched all these kids be born.

“One girl, she got here two years before me, i watched her have her children and now her grandchildren.”

A Tipton House resident, who has lived there for six years, said “a lot of us are really happy” to leave.

“You don’t feel safe living here, the council try their best but it’s so difficult.”

She said part of the reason for wanting to leave was “external factors”, such as “drunk students” walking through the estate and the basketball courts being used until 3am.

She said her flat is “very spacious” and “warm in the winter”, with modified kitchens and bathrooms “so you’re not living in the 1950s”.

“There’s pros and cons, like everything in life.”

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