Reading Borough Council has been accused of ‘lying’ to a mum about promised adjustments to her home to make life easier for her disabled daughter.
The council manages around 7,000 homes and has a newbuild project for hundreds more.
But a mum who lives in one of the newbuilds has accused the council of failing to deliver adjustments drawn up to make life easier for one of her daughters.
Jay Varley, 37, lives with her three children in Conwy Close, Tilehurst, in a semi-detached newbuild house completed in 2019.
Her daughter has a rare syndrome requiring her to use a wheelchair. Ms Varley has been pushing for space to be adjusted on the ground floor to give her daughter more independence, which has involved work with occupational therapists (OTs) for two years, with the process beginning in 2022.
At a council planning applications committee meeting on November 6, councillors agreed for the internal garage of the house to be converted into an accessible bathroom.
However, Ms Varley has contacted the Local Democracy Reporting Service stating the approved project cannot be delivered.
She said: “It’s a mess up on a major scale.
“Every excuse under the sun they are giving me.”
Ms Varley has also accused the council’s housing department of ‘pulling out’ on a previous project ‘at the last minute’.
She said: “The adaptations for the open-plan was agreed two years ago and should have been done.
“I’ve had the injustice of being messed around.”
Ultimately, she has been told that the garage conversion into an accessible bathroom approved by councillors cannot be undertaken.
Ms Varley said: “This [the council planning meeting] looks like Reading Borough Council are shining, but I’ve been told it can’t be done and there’s still no progress.
“It’s absolute hell. I’m up against a brick wall, that’s where I’ve been left.
“The councillors may not realise what I’m going through.”
She predicts that the adjustments will cost approximately £30,000.
In response to her complaint, a council representative admitted
The council spokesperson said: “The planning application proposal and subsequent approval at committee was made on the assessment of a surveyor who did not follow the rigorous process we expect in these circumstances, including direct consultation with an occupational therapist and the relevant housing teams.
“We sincerely apologise to Ms Varley for the correct process not being followed on this occasion.
“Our housing team and occupational therapists have subsequently considered both the structural issues with converting the garage and the best way to meet Ms Varley’s daughter’s individual needs both now and in the future, and both are in agreement that a garage conversion is not the best solution in these circumstances and that the most suitable solution which will most benefit the family and their individual requirements is a through floor lift.
“To reassure Ms Varley, will be seeking the opinion of an independent occupational therapist to confirm this is indeed the best way forward. Discussions are continuing with Mrs Varley in the meantime.”
