Anxious families living at former RAF Coltishall claim they are living in daily fear of eviction after six households have been given just two months to move out. The landlord, Annington Homes, bought almost four-hundred former MoD (Ministry of Defence) homes on the base and they have been gradually moving its tenants out and selling the properties.
Annington Homes say they are acting in accordance with the tenancy agreements and have offered tenants the chance to buy their homes at a significant discount. But many say they cannot afford to buy and will be heartbroken to leave the community which was renamed Badersfield after RAF Coltishall’s closure six years ago. Affected tenants have appealed for another landlord to buy the homes from Annington, protect them with landlord insurance and give them a long-term lease.
An Annington Homes spokesman said: “Annington has plans to slowly release the remainder of the properties at Badersfield and place them on the open market to provide much needed, well-priced family homes in the area. To this end we do expect to issue further termination notices within the year, as to precisely when is wholly dependent on how quickly these first properties sell. We will be informing all remaining tenants of this intention over the coming days and asking them to advise us of any issues they may have; upon which we will endeavour to work with them to resolve where possible.”
Residents are having sleepless nights after they assumed they had long-term tenancies. Trevor Ivory, North Norfolk District Councillor for Scottow, which includes Badersfield, is also very concerned at the news, and said “These people need to know their future is settled. I have made an appointment with the council’s housing department to find out what they could do to help the current tenants find alternative accommodation and have contacted Annington’s representatives asking for an urgent discussion.”