Row after group told they can no longer sit on benches over safety fears

Residents have been left baffled after their housing association ordered they stop meeting on their garden furniture because it’s a health and safety hazard.

Lyndon Brand, a resident at Hopeville Avenue in Broadstairs, Kent, set up the area for locals to talk about their problems when he moved to the town two years ago.

The ‘wellbeing hub’, which is situated in Mr Brand’s front garden, consists of four wooden chairs with side tables and a picnic bench.

But now, Orbit Housing, the company which owns the bungalows, has demanded that locals stop meeting at the popular hub because it could be dangerous.

Mr Brand, 60, said: ‘They told us we can’t have it because it’s a trip hazard. They just won’t listen to reason.

‘It has just made my life hell personally which then spills over onto the rest of us because if this goes, we’re all going to suffer.

‘When I first read that letter. My world fell out from underneath me.’

The notice issued by Orbit Housing states that if the seats are not removed voluntarily, they will come and take them away themselves.

Defiant residents, though, are adamant that they will sit tight for as long as it takes to keep their ‘safe haven’ from being axed.

Mr Brand continued: ‘I’ve been on guard every day, I haven’t gone out.

‘If they get their way and we come out here one day and this is all gone that would be terrible.

‘We just spontaneously come out because there’s something on your mind that day.’

Pensioners such as 84-year-old Sheila Morris have come to rely on the hub as a social space.

She said: ‘This is my family.

‘I live on my own, I’ve got two little dogs and a whole great big family just outside the front door.

‘I’ve got children but they’re a long, long way away. I can’t go back and forth to Herefordshire and my son can’t come back and forth to me all the time.’

The hub has also become a crucial part of Brenda O’Rourke’s life.

The 78-year-old said: ‘I’ve had cancer in my leg that makes it really difficult to walk anywhere.

‘I’m not able to just get buses here and there and I’ve had a triple heart bypass.

‘I just love it that even if nobody was sitting out here, I know if I knocked on anyone’s door, they would say come on let’s go and sit and have a chat.’

Orbit Housing has suggested a coffee morning for residents at the nearby village hall as a compromise.

But neighbours have insisted that they want something they can attend every day, saying ‘mental health doesn’t stop at the weekend.’

A spokeswoman for the housing association said: ‘The safety and wellbeing of our customers is our priority, and we have a duty of care to keep outdoor communal areas well managed and clear of any hazards that present health and safety or fire risks.

‘We have therefore reached out to all customers on the estate to kindly ask them to remove items in these areas.

‘However, we also understand the wellbeing benefits that outdoor social space can offer, which is why we also offered in our letter to arrange a meeting with all customers living on the estate to support them in creating a community space for the benefit of all in a suitable and safe location.

‘We encourage customers to accept our invitation so we can redesign an area that better suits the needs of the whole estate.

‘In the meantime, we have agreed for the benches only to remain until a new location can be agreed.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.