Dozens of Newcastle men are tonight on the street, after being evicted from their boarding homes.
Newcastle City Council has taken the stern approach due to fire safety issues, but it’s left several vulnerable men with no roof over their heads.
Link to full news story under the statement.
CITY OF NEWCASTLE STATEMENT TO NBN NEWS:
Alternative accommodation has been found for the vast majority of men displaced from three boarding houses issued with emergency closure orders earlier this month due to significant fire safety concerns.
Thirty of the 32 men who have so far registered for assistance have found or been offered a place to stay thanks to the fantastic efforts of support service providers coordinated by Matthew Talbot Homeless Service.
The City of Newcastle has also secured additional temporary short-term accommodation which can be accessed by those in need through Matthew Talbot.
We call on the operators of the boarding houses to provide details of the remaining residents so that support services can extend housing assistance to them. Despite indicating on two occasions that they would do so, the owners have so far refused to provide these details, hampering support efforts.
The owners have failed to comply with the emergency fire safety orders issued on 19 September. City of Newcastle is continuing its investigations and remains concerned about continued use of the premises as boarding houses, due to extensive fire safety deficiencies and unauthorised works at the three premises.
The City has been served with last-minute legal proceedings by the boarding house owners and is considering our position. The City is also considering enforcement action as a result of the failure to comply with the orders.
The boarding houses lack the essential fire safety design element known as compartmentation, which stops the rapid spread of fire by separating buildings or rooms with “compartment” walls and doors made of fire-resistant materials.
This City has identified a long list of unauthorised building works and fire safety deficiencies including but not limited to:
· unauthorised construction of 30 sole occupancy units
· inadequate emergency lighting,
· the absence of hose reels and a smoke alarm system with automatic fire detection,
· no fire doors in some cases;
· fire-isolated stairs compromised by the installation of windows in the stairwell wall
· and thermal heat detectors in corridor ceilings instead of smoke detectors
Can we please have an update on these men?
I wonder how much care and consideration this rotten council put into examining these boarding houses- far more likely they are carrying out these cruel actions because some developer wants the properties. I want a council who operates for the good of all not run the city as though it is a profit making business.