Families living in cramped conditions are pleading with West Dunbartonshire Council to help end their “nightmare”.
The Lennox this week spoke to two families living in overcrowded homes, both of whom had requests for work to give them more space turned down by WDC.
Craig Nicholson lives in Pappert with his partner and their seven children and is crammed into a three bedroom property which he described as “really difficult”.
Bellsmyre mum Tracey McLaughlin has four children in her care in a three bedroom home, where one of the rooms is barely big enough for a single bed.
Both families contacted WDC for support, but say they were told stretched budgets meant they would have to remain in their overcrowded homes.
This is despite a Freedom of Information Request (FOI) submitted by the Lennox Herald revealing that WDC’s previous SNP administration spent £244,900 converting two Alexandria properties into one home for a large family.
Craig said: “My 16-year-old daughter has a room of her own, my two boys at 12 and 13 are in a room together. And then our other four kids who are eight and nine are in the same bedroom with two sets of bunk beds, and there are three boys and one girl.
“My partner and I are in the living room and have a curtain dividing a bit of the living room off with that. I got in contact with my local councillor and they mentioned the possibility of knocking two houses into one.
“But WDC says there are no houses of a suitable size for us, or houses where two can be knocked into one. Because of the ages of the kids, I’ve got two eight-year-olds and a nine-year-old boy and a nine-year-old girl all in the same bedroom, it’s not ideal at all.
“There’s barely any space as it is for them to play. The council have said there is nothing they can do. It was really challenging, especially during the pandemic when we were homeschooling the kids.
“Now when they are trying to play with the toys they are all on top of each other. It’s really difficult.”
Tracey meanwhile says that she has lived in an overcrowded home most of her life, but said that additional challenges are now making life a nightmare.
She said: “I’ve been overcrowded forever. We have three bedrooms, but one is like a box room. You can barely fit a single bed in it. On top of that, I took on kinship care of my friend’s two children after she wasn’t able to care for them. I couldn’t see them go into care.
“One of them turned 18 and moved out, but I have her teenage daughter living with me.
“At the moment I’ve got an 18-year-old boy, sharing with a six-year-old girl. A 16-year-old girl and my wee boy who has extreme ADHD and is on medication for that. He’s in the wee box room. It’s been an absolute nightmare.”
Tracey had hoped that progress was being made when WDC sent an architect and an engineer to her home to look at converting the dining area into a bedroom - but it was deemed too expensive a project.
She continued: “A few years ago my neighbour moved out and I asked if they could make two into one, but I was told that wasn’t something the council would do. I had to correct them, because I know of people who they have done it for.
“I’ve been left in limbo and it’s no way for anyone to live. It’s absolutely horrendous. You’d need to live here to appreciate how much of a nightmare it is.”
Tracey contacted Jackie Baillie MSP, who told the Lennox: “There is a shortage of large family sized social housing in West Dunbartonshire and the previous SNP administration did not build any to meet demand.
“It seems extraordinary that this amount was spent on retrofitting two existing properties when it would have been cheaper to build new homes and I am surprised that officers of the council were allowed to approve this expenditure. There are a number of larger families in the area desperate for more space but there is not enough money to build bigger houses. “I know that my Labour Council colleagues are keen to help but this will require more funding from the SNP Government in Edinburgh.”
A spokesman for WDC said that if an opportunity becomes available to knock two WDC adjacent properties together, it would be considered. However each situation would need to be assessed on an individual basis.
He added: “We strive to accommodate the needs of tenants and at present there is limited availability of larger properties in the specific areas requested. Tenants can reduce the wait to be matched with a more suitable property by expanding the number of areas they would be willing to be rehoused. Our Housing Officers will make contact again with the tenants to support and discuss available options.”
