An elderly couple have spoken out after they were left “absolutely devastated” when they received a letter from their council suggesting their new property could be subject to compulsory purchase and used to house asylum seekers.
Ted and Jose Saunders had just moved into their new home when the “strongly-worded” letter from North Northamptonshire Council arrived leaving Jose “in tears.”
Speaking to GB News, Jose said: “I was absolutely devastated. We had only just bought this house, we had been in it eight or nine weeks and that came through the letterbox.”
“After crying and and getting really angry, we went down to the local council offices and I spoke to a lady in there.
Jose Saunders was left “absolutely devastated” by the letter
GB News
“She took photocopies of the letter after I showed her it and was really angry with her. She said to me there’s nothing to worry about, it’s just a standard letter.
“And I said, I don’t think that’s a standard letter that you should be sending to any person.”
Speaking about what was written in the letter, she said: “They said as part of this process Northampton Chief Council is identifying empty properties and sites within the area to encourage owners to bring premises back into use or to find alternative options for derelict sites.
“The resettlement team in North Northamptonshire Council supports asylum seekers and refugees across three different projects, Homes for Ukraine, Afghan resettlement, and asylum dispersal.
They had only moved into the house eight weeks ago
GETTY
“At present, we are seeing a considerable increase in positive immigration decisions being made in favour of asylum seekers.
“So basically they want accommodation, but who goes around and assesses whether these properties are lived in or empty? She couldn’t tell me.
“Then they had the audacity to send a letter of some sort of an apology that said ‘I am sorry to hear that you were upset by the letter.’
“Well, how would they feel if they got a letter like that after they bought a property?
They were told that the letter was a mistake
GB News
“It makes me feel very angry because as I said, we purchased the property, we’ve paid the council tax, the tenant, the people who owned it before would have paid their council tax.
“How do they assess these properties for asylum seekers and Afghans and whatever? What about people that are on housing lists that have been waiting for years?”
A compulsory purchase order (CPO) is a legal tool which may be used by some organisations, including councils, to seize property.
Leader of North Northamptonshire Council, Jason Smithers said in a statement: “Compulsory purchase orders are a tool used as a very last resort to bring empty properties back into use.
“Unfortunately, in this case, records held by the council were outdated and the letter was incorrectly sent to a property which was occupied.
“For this, I’m very sorry for causing any undue distress and worry.”
