Fears for future of Knottingley accommodation complex

Fears are growing that Beulah Court is to be axed by its managing company, Wakefield District Housing (WDH), and the elderly residents moved out.

There are currently 13 flats occupied but many more empty, and while WDH have told residents no decision has been made, they have admitted to residents that there is has been a decline of interest in the accommodation from prospective residents.

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But Lynne Greaves, whose mother who has happily lived on Beulah Court for the past two years, argues that WDH does not list any of the flats on its Homesearch website.

She said: “If you go on WDH website, it’s not there anymore. They told us that it was not viable to modernise the flats because there’s a lack of interest, that’s because they are not being advertised.

“How can there be interest if people don’t know about it?

“They say nobody wants to live in there but I know four people who would move in.

“It was a lovely scheme to live in but WDH have dwindled it down, it’s them that are making it not viable.

“There’s no place in Knottingley like this. The people here are born and bred here, they don’t want to move away, but we need more people to move in.”

Mick Walsh, director of housing at WDH said: “We regularly review our accommodation, specifically that for older and vulnerable people to ensure it can deliver the longer term needs of our residents.

“Beulah Court and its residents are part of this ongoing review to ensure that people who wish to remain in the Knottingley area can do so with the appropriate support.”

Meanwhile, WDH said that people can still put Knottingley as a preference when filling out application forms to move into sheltered accommodation.