End to a shameful chapter

The government’s plans to outlaw landlords making quick and easy evictions without good reason is a welcome move for the thousands of people in Peterborough who rent their homes.

It is a move that would effectively stop the outrageous and ridiculous situation which occurred at St Michael’s Gate in Peterborough.

There we witnessed the barmy and obscene sight of residents being evicted from their homes so Peterborough City Council could move homeless families in there.

As resident and campaigner Jelena Stevic told the PT this week it’s too late for the 72 households of St Michael’s Gate but hopefully there will now be no repeat.

Those 72 households – including many families – were, and it is worth repeating, made homeless so homes could be made available for the homeless.

If I had not spent a lifetime listening to politicians I might have been taken aback by the response from the city council’s cabinet member for housing to the latest development. Cllr Peter Hiller said: “The eviction of families from private rented properties without proper reason causes huge personal stress and sometimes homelessness with the inevitable unsuitablity of temporary accommodation and knock-on cost to the taxpayer.’’

So, does this mean that the council believed the evictions at St Michael’s Gate were done with ‘proper reason’?

And if it didn’t why was it a party to it, regardless of whether it was the law or not?

One of several PT front pages on this sorry and shameful saga carried the banner headline UNACCEPTABLE. Perhaps we should do another one after Mr Hiller’s comments?

How about UNBELIEVEABLE.