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ianstone
08-17-2010, 02:27 PM
Pensioner, 83, facing eviction from the council house he's lived in for 74 years to make way for a 'family in need'


By Daily Mail Reporter (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Daily+Mail+Reporter)
Last updated at 5:27 PM on 17th August 2010

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http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/17/article-1303772-0AD271DE000005DC-120_233x423.jpg Keen gardener Edward Meakins, 83, has been told he must move out of the three-bedroom council house he has lived in since he was nine to free up space for a family

An 83-year-old pensioner who has lived in the same council house for 74 years is being evicted after the death of his sister left him living alone.
Edward Meakins fears moving out of his life-long home will kill him but Barnet Council wants to use the three-bedroom property for one of the rising number of families needing large council homes.

He moved into the house in Cricklewood, north-west London, with his parents and four siblings in 1936 but is now the only resident after his sister Margaret died in May.
Following her death, he signed a temporary contract taking on the rights and responsibilities of the former tenant, but has since been told this will run out in six months.
'I moved here when I was nine, which was 74 years ago, and I don't think it is fair that after I have lived here for that long I should go and live in a flat,' he said.
'This has been my life in this house since I was nine. Why do they want to turn me out? I don't suppose I have got many more years to go, so why can't they just leave me here until I die?'
Mr Meakins, a keen gardener who worked as a window cleaner for 25 years, said: 'I don't want a flat. I don't like the idea of it at all. It's very important for me that I stay here.
'I have been very worried about it. I wouldn't last long in a flat, it would kill me.

'I have got my garden and all my life here, so why do they want to take it all away from me?'
He recalled fond memories growing up in the house with his siblings.
'All the boys and girls in the street used to play together, we used to play round the alleyways in the back and it was a very happy time,' he said.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/17/article-1303772-0AD318BB000005DC-478_468x286.jpg Memories: A nine-year-old Edward Meakins with his brother and sister when they first moved into the house in 1936

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/17/article-1303772-0AD25DFB000005DC-555_468x254.jpg The house in Cricklewood where Mr Meakins has lived for 74 years

His niece, Rita, said her uncle was still able to look after himself and was passionate about his garden.

'He is very happy where he is. I just can't understand why they want him to move. They should show some compassion,' she said.

Last month, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith warned that pensioners may be moved from their 'under-occupied' homes to make room for families needing larger homes.

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Support has been flooding in for Mr Meakins, including a Facebook petition urging Barnet Homes to reverse its decision.
So far, 350 people have joined the group, titled 'Save 83yr old Edward Meakins from being forced out of his home of 74 years'.
One member, Christopher Armour, said: 'It makes me sick to see some money-hungry suit picking on an elderly man. Let Edward see out his last years in a place that is full of the love and laughter of those he has held dear over his lifetime.'
The creator of the group, Alexander Robb-Millar, said: 'Just let him live in his place till he dies! It's hard to pick an age limit but I think once you're over something like 70 or 75 it should be LAW that you are allowed to stay till you die.


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/17/article-1303772-0AD3158E000005DC-101_468x286.jpg Emotional: Mr Meakins fear he will die if he is moved out of his home of more than seven decades





http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/17/article-1303772-0AD30DE5000005DC-953_468x236.jpg A Facebook petition has been set up to help Mr Meakins fight his eviction

A Barnet Council spokesman said: 'We sympathise with Mr Meakins’ position, and we appreciate that the prospect of leaving the family home after so many years must be very difficult for him.
'However, Mr Meakins is living in a three-bedroom council house, which are in very short supply in Barnet.
'We have to balance our sympathy for his position against the needs of the large number of people on the borough’s housing register who are desperate for a good quality family home.
'We will continue to offer Mr Meakins all the support we can in finding suitable alternative accommodation.'

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/17/article-1303772-0AD3192B000005DC-214_468x286.jpg Passionate gardener: Mr Meakins spends hours in the backyard tending to his garden, which he has cultivated over decades



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