Labour celebrated forcing a major armed forces personnel housing association to backtrack on making dozens of veterans homeless on Wednesday.
Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey joined veterans at a London Stoll housing complex to back their bid to save comrades from being left on the streets. He paid tribute to Ben Coleman, Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Chelsea and Fulham who campaigned hard to help those affected by the sale of homes to Chelsea FC.
Under a new £80m deal the Premiership club is buying Stoll Mansions, home to over 100 veterans, 42 of whom faced being without homes as they were on “short hold leases.”
The Stoll complex has housed veterans for more than 100 years, but is being sold to Chelsea FC (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)But local councillor and Labour Parliamentary candidate Mr Coleman, along with veterans, persuaded Stoll to guarantee all vets will be given new homes. The Stoll complex has housed veterans for more than 100 years but only those there for more than five years have “assured tenancy.”
After Labour stepped in Stoll is securing a nearby site so all the residents will be housed. Mr Healey told the Mirror : “I must pay tribute to the hard work of Ben Coleman in making this happen and progressing towards veterans not being made homeless.
“What he did was enormous, he got into the organisation, he got into Chelsea FC and the club agreed to a pause until the residents were taken care of. They were very supportive and agreed with Ben to pause until proper arrangements were put in place.
From the left: John Healey, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence visits Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions Chelsea London homes for veterans with Labour's candidate for Chelsea & Fulham Ben Coleman (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)“The main problem was that the Stoll organisation was fixed on raising funds for the charity and lost sight of the residents, they lost sight of the community which does support each other.
Premier League odds and betting tips
“They were breaking up a community and making four dozen people homeless. It’s a rare day to celebrate good news as times are tough for everyone and particularly tough for the residents of Stoll as they have lived through this threat of losing this stunning place.”
Healey paid tribute to Ben Coleman, Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Chelsea and Fulham, who led a local campaign for the veterans (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror) Local council deputy leader Mr Coleman added: “We have a duty to look after every local resident and this was the right thing to do. We owe it to these veterans to ensure they are housed and worked hard in striking up communications between them, the club and Stoll.
"I am delighted that we have secured this victory and no residents will be evicted. But the fight doesn't end here. Over the coming months, we'll work closely with Stoll to ensure that new, local homes for the veterans are developed, and I will hold the housing charity to its promises. If I win a seat in the election I hope to bring some of that increased influence to further ensure that their situation is good and I do not intend to stop.”
Stoll Chief Executive Will Campbell-Wroe told the Mirror: ”We are continuing to progress the sale of the majority of the Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions site to Chelsea FC and expect to share more information on this in the coming weeks.
“We are also well underway with securing new, higher quality properties with greatly improved accommodation for veterans in the local area, where our residents will receive enhanced support.
“If residents choose to move somewhere other than a Stoll property when they leave the Fulham site, we will continue to provide 12 months of support to them. Veterans are the heart of our organisation and we are fully committed to ensuring all residents are supported during the sale of the site.”
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
