A Nottingham woman says that she is desperate to move out of her three-bedroom council house into a one-bedroom bungalow as she battles a dangerous brain condition. Dawn Gayle, 58, has lived in her current property in Bestwood for 19 years but in 2019, she began enquiring about how she could move closer to her wheelchair-bound parents in Bulwell.
Things became more urgent towards the beginning of 2021, when doctors found cysts on Mrs Gayle's brain which cannot be drained and which lead to regular, unexpected blackouts. As well as caring for her 82-year-old parents, Mrs Gayle now wants to be closer to her family in Bulwell in case anything happens to her.
But she said: "I've probably bidded on nine bungalows and I'm still no further. There was one particular bungalow that I was hoping for and that someone else got, but then within a year they had left because they decided they didn't like it.
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"The council know about my situation but nobody seems to properly understand it and I feel as though I'm banging my head against a brick wall trying to move. I actually thought that they'd jump at the chance to get a three-bedroom house with everything that's going on.
"They told me at one point that there isn't as much call for a three-bedroom property and that the demand is for two-bedroom ones but to me, that just shows a lack of common sense. Families would just use the other room as a spare one or for something else and there must be loads of people who urgently need a property like mine more than I do."
Mrs Gayle lives alone in her property after her husband passed away five years ago and after her support dog died just two weeks ago. Describing the impact of her condition, she said: "I can't actually cook for myself because I don't see these blackouts coming at all, so doing anything like cooking is really dangerous.
"Even having a shower is dangerous on my own because there's the risk of blacking out and being laid there with the water still running. I care for my parents along with my sisters and at the moment, I get picked up every day between 9.30am and 10am to go to Bulwell.
"I spend most of the day there, get dropped back off at my house at around 5pm, then get picked up again at about 9pm to put mum and dad to bed before coming back to mine again. So at the moment, I'm barely spending any time at my house but I'm still paying my bedroom tax."
In terms of managing her condition, Mrs Gayle says that she was told about an option to have an alarm fitted for her current home to alert someone when she fell. But at £35 a week, Mrs Gayle says that this is unaffordable and that being with her family in Bulwell is the only solution.
As well as the danger of her condition, Dawn Gayle says that she is also feeling socially isolated at her current property. She said: "I'm someone who does keep myself to myself and I do say good morning to my neighbours, but I'm not someone who would be going round to people's houses.
"I could be with all my family in Bulwell and just pop round to mum and dad's for a cup of tea whenever, but I do feel really isolated in my current place because I haven't got any family there. I just don't think I'm being given a fair chance when I've seen people who are actually working moving into these bungalows that I'm bidding on, which I don't think is right."
Mrs Gayle says that letters have been sent to Nottingham City Council from her GP explaining that it would be safer for her to live in a bungalow. A spokesperson for Nottingham City Homes said: "We're sympathetic to Mrs Gayle's situation and have been trying to help her move out of her current property on health grounds.
"Initially, she was clear that she would only move to a bungalow on a particular street which significantly reduced the number of options available. Mrs Gayle has since agreed to extend the search to include more streets so we will continue to work with her to find a suitable home for her needs.
"We've advised her that she must bid on properties in accordance with our wider allocations policy, to ensure fairness for everyone, and pointed out that other high-priority tenants may be interested in the same properties." Nottingham City Council's housing allocations policy contains four bands running from A through to D, with the most high priority applicants being in Band A.
One of the categories in Band A includes people moving on medical and disability grounds, which the policy says includes people who "have an urgent need to move because they are living in accommodation that is unsuitable for them or a member of their household, by virtue of their medical condition." The policy says this specifically could apply to people who are "unable to function independently in their home."
But the Nottingham City Homes spokesperson added: "Restricting areas of choice reduces the bidding options available, especially as there are currently lengthy waits for some property types, including bungalows." Mrs Gayle says that requesting to be on the same street as her parents was her "right".
She added: "The way I've been treated is really getting me down because I think I should be given a bit more dignity. I've been told that I could wake up one morning and not be able to walk again, so I don't see why I shouldn't be a high priority."
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