A FAMILY of seven are adjusting to their new lives following a major health incident and eviction from their house of 26 years earlier this year.
Nick Garnett, Emma Bowen and their five children were served with a Section 21 no-fault eviction notice, despite having paid over £200,000 in rent, to allow the Mapledurham Estate to renovate the two houses at Pithouse.
Shortly before the family were forced to vacate their cottage, Emma endured a brain haemorrhage while waiting for surgery, which kept her in hospital for four months.
Members of the community have backed their cause, making their feelings towards the family’s former landlord known by graffitiing the home and laying out the contents of Nick and Emma’s daughter’s old bedroom on the Mapledurham front lawn.
Partner Nick explained: “They knew what Emma was going through, that she was waiting for brain surgery. Even without the haemorrhage, she needed peace and a place to rest for a few months.
“It was a big worry for all of us. She had been put on a waiting list at John Radcliffe since April last year. They finally set her surgery date for February 14, and she ended up having a major brain haemorrhage on April 2.
“I thought the Estate would give us some breathing space, but it made no difference to them. I find that very callous, I take that personally.”
While Emma was recovering in hospital, Nick continued trying to organise face-to-face conversations with representatives of the Mapledurham Estate to plead for more time. He hoped returning to a familiar setting would offer his partner comfort. These requests were declined.
In November 2022, friends, family and members of the community got behind the cause, with hundreds showing up to an eviction fayre at their property on the weekend of their initial eviction. At this point, the landlord’s initial Section 21 notice lapsed, but they handed the family a second notice. Nick wrote three lengthy letters explaining their situation to which he received three “abrupt” responses.
Allies make their feelings towards the Estate in recent weeks, with the words “Evict Landlord” painted on the walls of the Pithouse cottage, while the residents of the Mapledurham Estate would have woken up to the upholstery of the children’s rooms laid out in their front garden.
“All the way through, I’ve wanted to behave in an exemplary way,” Nick explained. “Someone’s written in the house, which could be awkward and could be considered as vandalism. I don’t completely identify with the sentiment.
“But there’s a balance of power between tenants and landlords.”
The family has found a place on Northumberland Avenue, thanks to connections they had with the Whitley Community Development Association.
An artist by trade, Nick made the most of the space available to him at his previous property, a luxury he is sadly no longer afforded. But he was quick to point out that that isn’t his or his family’s biggest priority at the moment.
“In some respects, we have to understand we have been very blessed,” he said. “Emma is doing incredibly well. I can’t believe the journey she’s been on. We were told that she would die, and then that she would be very incapacitated.
“I thought I’d lost her. There have been lots of really bad things that have happened over the past year, but the thing that could have been the worst, didn’t.”
He described the support he and his family had received as “humbling”.
A spokesperson for the Mapledurham Estate said: “We have been in negotiations with the local planning authority for the renovation of the two houses at Pithouse and we have now agreed the proposed plans in principle with the planners.
“We have then drawn these plans up in detail and we are about to apply for full planning consent. We then have to go out to tender to building contractors and the building works may well take over nine months to complete. Therefore it is a long and uncertain process and we are not in a position to commit to occupation of the houses after renovation, at this stage.
“It is not possible for anybody to live in the houses whilst the work is being carried out, due to the extent and nature of the works and therefore we needed possession before commencing the renovation.”
