Avenue tenants split on scheme

TENANTS at Victoria Avenue have given a mixed reaction to plans to knock down their homes and redevelop the run-down estate. Housing yesterday unveiled proposals to demolish the 36 flats and 18 houses to make way for modern one-bedroom apartments.

Some families living there have welcomed the plans but others have vowed to stand firm if the bulldozers roll in.

Housing Department officials have branded the neglected estate 'shameful' and said the only way to bring it up to modern standards was to raze it.

One of the tenants who said he would defy officials is Michael Duffy, who has been living in his flat in Victoria Avenue for more than 10 years.

The unemployed 52-year-old is angry the area has been dubbed a disgrace and says it is a perfect home for him and his dog, Scraps.

He said: 'There's nothing wrong with these flats and they are definitely nothing to be ashamed of.

'I have lived here for 10 years and it is close to the fields to take my dog for a walk. It is perfect.

'We are not moving and I know my neighbour feels the same as me.'

The houses were built in the 1930s and the flats in the 1950s and many are heated by a coal fire and lack modern fittings.

Single mother-of-three Zoe Leggett has been campaigning to be moved for years and wants a home that is not stuck in the early part of last century.

'Having a coal fire is dangerous especially with three small children,' said the 24-year-old.

'I have been living here for four years and if we are moved, I will be glad ' it's about time something was done.

'There is no play area for the kids and I have been on the transfer list for the past year.

'The flats are small but it is a nice community and we all get along well around here.'

The department also plans to demolish eight houses along Victoria Avenue to make way for new one-bedroom properties.

The report, which sets out the future of social housing for the next five years, has revealed the Guernsey Housing Association has been consulted in the move.

The association has estimated that 84 new homes could be built on the land.

Also supporting the move is mother-of-three Chantelle Le Moigne, who complains that her flat is so small she is forced to sleep on the sofa.

'This flat is not nice and there are only two bedrooms so my two boys share and my girl has her own room,' said the 25-year-old.

'It is freezing and there isn't a garden for the children to play in.

'Anything has got to be better than living here.

'If they move us, I wouldn't mind the disruption and I would be overjoyed if we got a better place to live.'

It is estimated that to bring the flats up to modern standards, would cost the taxpayer nearly '5m.

Housing considers that it would be more cost-effective to build new homes that would have a longer lifespan.

Backing the plans for better housing is pensioner Alice Ogier, who said she was the victim of antisocial youths living on the estate.

The 74-year-old said she would move out of her ground-floor flat next day to get away from the troublemakers.

'I like my flat but it is a nightmare to live around here,' said the OAP.

'I have been here for 12 years and moved with my disabled granddaughter whom I was looking after at the time.

'It was supposed only to be temporary and I have been here ever since.

'The area is awful and kids smash eggs against my window and I have cameras in my windows to warn them off.

'The sooner we are out of here the better.'

Under new plans, around 100 tenants living in States houses will be relocated.

But pensioner Frank Dunn will not be one of the evicted tenants if he gets his way.

The 72-year-old and his wife, June, have lived on the estate for more than 30 years and remain sceptical over the proposals.

'I don't want to move,' he said.

'It is nice and handy for us here and they will most likely shove us anywhere.

'I don't believe a word they say and I will wait to see what will actually happen.

'They have just put in a new bathroom and now they are saying we could be moving? What is the sense in that?'