FORMER postman Carl Clark, who has lived and worked all his life in Minehead, says it seems he is not local enough to qualify for new social housing which has been built in the town for people with ‘strong local connections’.
Mr Clark, aged 60, and partner Maxine Cook, aged 56, who has lived in Minehead for the past 21 years, have three times been turned down for a one-bedroom house on the new Rainbow Way development, off Seaward Way.
Somerset Council, which is overseeing the building of the first new council homes for at least 30 years in West Somerset, has instead allowed the properties to be given to other applicants.
Ms Cook and Mr Clark, who also needs to be in Minehead to be close enough to care for his elderly and frail mother, have been on the council’s housing needs register for the past four years.
The couple, who have bronze status for council housing need, have had to move twice in the past couple of years, are currently in a privately rented flat.
Ms Cook said: “We are after a forever home, because there is always anxiety about how long we can be here before we get another letter saying we have to move.
“We bid for three properties in Rainbow Way and were told somebody else was considered each time.
“It is just rejection after rejection.
“I do not know what we have to do to get accepted.
“We do not know what the issue is.”
Ms Cook said she and Mr Clark attended an open day when prospective tenants were shown around the new homes and were told people might have to wait 10 years before they could be considered.
She said: “I hope the people they are accepting have local connections, but we do not know.
“We are eligible to bid for the properties but each time it just says the landlord is considering somebody else and no reason is given.”
Maureen Smith, chairman of West Somerset Community Land Trust, which has declared a housing emergency in the area, told town councillors only last month how ‘hardly any’ social housing had been built since the group started in 2016.
Ms Smith said the trust had exhausted ‘every possible site’ in West Somerset despite identifying several potential locations, and had explored converting existing buildings but found it was not viable due to costs.
A Somerset Council spokesperson told the Free Press the Rainbow Way homes were designed to help the authority meet local need.
They said: “However, need is at an all-time high and the council expects demand for these properties will leave some applicants disappointed.
“The first three one-bedroom apartments were advertised on Homefinder Somerset and it was clear from the response that demand is high.
“There are 17 one-bedroom apartments in all, so there will be multiple opportunities for bidding as each phase is released.
“The council expects more apartments will be released during April/May when they will be placed on Homefinder and become available in accordance with the local lettings plan.”