CONCERNS about younger people being housed in accommodation designed for the elderly were raised by councillors, with one bizarre story cited during discussions.

At a meeting on Thursday, October 22, Cllr Stuart Graham brought forward a motion which called on the Forest Council to work with housing providers to ensure age and eligibility restrictions applying to specialist developments are clearly stated in property advertisements and are consistently applied.

The meeting saw several examples raised by councillors which highlighted concerns around anti-social behaviour. While some residents have reported trespass, criminal damage, intimidation, drug dealing and noise, one bizarre example stood out.

A Forest of Dean resident was reportedly pushed out of the way by someone who entered their home, then defecated in their living room as a warning for standing up to the anti-social behaviour.

Cllr Stuart Graham said: “This motion is not an attack on younger people or the homeless, it concerns the suitability of housing allocations and the protection of existing, often vulnerable, residents.

“Elderly residents, some in their 90s, cannot sleep in their own beds and sleep on their kitchen floors.

“One resident was pushed out of the way while a person went into their home and defecated in their living room as a warning to them for having the courage to stand up to the anti-social elements.”

Cllr Graham said he put forward the motion because some elderly residents in housing developments originally intended for older people are suffering “serious long-term distress”, and the situation is leading to “obvious unresolved and incremental trauma due to persistent anti-social behaviour from some younger residents”.

He claimed the council’s current approach relies heavily on enforcement after something has happened and they are not well enough resourced.

Cllr Graham said: “Elderly residents should not have to endure the severe distress and trauma of months and years of intimidation and criminal behaviour while authorities wait for sufficient evidence to act.”

Cllr Nick Evans, also Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire, commended the motion brought by Cllr Graham.

Cllr Jaime Elsmore welcomed the motion, while Cllr Andrew McDermid said he would support it, despite some concerns that it was flawed

However, opposing the motion, Cllr David Wheeler said the age-related restriction on allocation is generally discounted in social housing where an applicant has a medical condition or disability.

Cllr Jackie Dale said the motion was trying to address a claim of inappropriate allocation of specialist housing and anti-social behaviour.

She said she feared the motion did not prove “the assumption that if we restricted specialist housing i.e. for older and vulnerable residents entirely within this category, that we would remove the problem of anti-social behaviour”.

Cllr Graham’s motion had divided the room, with Cllr Di Martin using her casting vote to break the deadlock, ultimately rejecting the motion.

She claimed the council’s letting was not the issue. Instead, there needed to be action taken on antisocial behaviour.