Man on housing wait list in Worcestershire sleeping in car

BBC News

a day ago

A man says he has had to sleep in a car for five months after being repeatedly turned down for a council property.Mark Piggott, 58, said he contacted Wychavon District Council, Worcestershire, in December to inform them that he was expecting to be made homeless on 12 January this year.But he said the local authority failed to offer him immediate support and had turned down his weekly bids for an affordable one-bedroom home.The council said it had entered into negotiations with Mr Piggott for private rented housing, including an offer of support with rent and deposit.
"I feel lower than ever and it feels like no-one is helping," Mr Piggott said. "I feel like I've done everything yet get no help back."My three kids used to stay with me when I had a caravan, now they can't and I miss them deeply."
The 58-year-old said he had to leave his last private rental due to falling into arrears when he lost his job.His marriage had also broken down, he said, and he had been unable to secure work due to stress and other mental health issues.It's resulted in him spending days and nights in his car, parked in laybys across the county."I'm on Universal Credit now which is about £300 a month," he said."I can't afford regular take-out food. I did get a food voucher but I have no means to cook… so I'm eating things like crisps. I've lost two stone since January."
According to Government Housing statistics, Wychavon District Council had 2,992 households on its property waiting list in 2024.That number has increased by about 140 % since 2021.The council said the latest figure was 2,659.According to data, Mr Piggott is one of 1,375 people waiting for a one-bedroom home.He said three social housing properties had been offered but in each case, they had been unaffordable considering his lack of income."The system is horrible. How should a 58-year-old have to live like this?" he asked."Recently, with the heat, living in a car has been tough.. I am not intentionally homeless, I do want somewhere to live."
Rough sleepers have been supported locally by the Caring for Communities and People (CCP) organisation.It has been focusing support on helping people apply for social housing, ensuring they are on the correct band and presenting officials with up-to-date personal details.Melanie Green, project manager for homelessness prevention, said there were few one-bedroom properties available."It can be that something has been missed in the housing application or overlooked and that the banding is not correct and also circumstances can change significantly," she explained."One-bed properties are quite few and far between and shared occupation is the way councils prefer single homeless people to go."Wychavon District Council would not comment further on Mr Piggott's case, but stressed it was supporting him to apply for private housing.Jennifer Taylor, director of communities and housing, said: "Rising rents and the cost of living are driving exceptional demand for housing support, but our new early intervention approach is reducing rough sleeping. There's more to do, and we're committed to helping every customer."After speaking to the BBC, Mr Piggott, who is also a former caretaker with Worcestershire County Council, has also been signposted to a number of homelessness organisations around Evesham for advice and support.
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