A frustrated couple have been outbid on the perfect ‘forever home’ for their severely disabled daughter – by the local authority that provides her with financial support.
Greg Treadwell and his wife Sarah had been hoping to buy a former care home that was ideal for their daughter Lovelle, four, who has cerebral palsy and needs constant care.
They had bid just over £1 million for the property but dropped out after claiming they were told Castle Point Borough Council in Benfleet, Essex would shell out ‘whatever’ it took to secure it.
The council pays for Lovelle’s medical support at a special school and is responsible for adaptations to the family’s home.
Her father, a chartered accountant, told MailOnline: ‘We are sad that Castle Point Council does not give more weight to people with disabilities.
‘It makes us wonder whether they fully understand the complexities of living with disabilities and why they enter into a bidding contest with a family they already support and know is vulnerable.’
Greg Treadwell and his wife Sarah had been hoping to buy a former care home that was ideal for their daughter Lovelle, four, who has cerebral palsy and needs constant care (pictured, the family together)
The Treadwells live in a comfortable detached house in Hadleigh, Essex, but need to move because Lovelle’s room is on the first floor, making it difficult to access when paramedics regularly attend, often to take her to hospital for emergency treatment.
Her condition, caused by complications at birth that starved her of oxygen, left her brain damaged, non-verbal, suffering visual and hearing issues.
She also has no gag reflex, which leaves her at constant risk of food going down the wrong way, and supraventricular tachycardia, where the heart suddenly beats abnormally fast.
The home the family wanted to move into – nearby Abbeyfield House – has all its rooms on the ground floor and one big enough to accommodate Lovelle and the nurses who look after Lovelle every night.
It would also allow the paramedics and other medics who regularly race over when there is an emergency to have enough room to all be in the room to stabilise her before she is transported to hospital.
The property also has enough space to store the vast amount of equipment needed for Lovelle’s care, including oxygen tanks, hoists, saturation monitors, feeding machines and boxes of syringes and tubes, as well as parking for carers.
Mr Treadwell, 54, said: ‘We love where we live but it is not ideal for our youngest daughter, due to her needs.
‘As she is getting bigger, her physical needs are becoming higher. Abbeyfield would have allowed us to remain in the area. We need to be within 20 minutes of Southend Hospital.
‘Because of our daughter’s needs, it needs to tick a lot of boxes and this was our forever home. We are gutted.’
They had bid just over £1 million for the former care home (pictured) but dropped out after claiming they were told Castle Point Borough Council in Benfleet, Essex would shell out ‘whatever’ it took to secure it
Greg and Sarah with daughter Bibiane, 6, Son Thinaut, 9, and daughter Lovelle, four, said they were ‘gutted’ to be outbid by the council
He added: ‘Every time we come across somewhere suitable, we are outbid by developers who are desperate to get their hands on it.’
Mr Treadwell, whose 41-year-old wife gave up her job as a structural engineer to look after their daughter full-time, said a well-placed source had informed him the council was determined to buy the property ‘whatever’ the cost.
It has since emerged Castle Point paid £1.1 million and will use it to provide emergency accommodation for homeless people – a plan many oppose in the wider community. Another £500,000 would be spent on renovating the property.
In an email from independent councillor Tom Gibson, who is responsible for special projects and assets, Mr Treadwell was told: ‘It is highly likely that, had we not made an offer on Abbeyfield House, another local authority would have purchased it for the purpose of housing their own homeless residents, or even central government in order to house asylum seekers, as they are beginning to pursue the purchase of this kind of property for this reason.’
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Mr Treadwell responded that he was ‘not a developer and [we] have no intention of changing the outline of the property or making money out of the purchase. It would also mean this area would remain family-oriented’.
Mr Gibson was contacted for a comment. Speaking about the deal last week, he said: ‘The proposed purchase and redevelopment of Abbeyfields represents a sound investment for our council and will reduce our costs while improving the quality of the service offered by the council to its residents.
The home the family wanted to move into has all its rooms on the ground floor and one big enough to accommodate Lovelle and the nurses who look after Lovelle every night (pictured, Greg and Sarah with Lovelle)
‘An investment opportunity like this will otherwise be snapped up by the private market or another public sector purchaser and would be unlikely to deliver the same benefits to our residents and community.’
Colleague Rob Lillis, the portfolio holder for wellbeing and housing, added: ‘This acquisition will allow the council to increase its housing provision within the borough to support vulnerable residents.’
Marc McOwens, the general manager of Southend Mencap, which helps people with learning difficulties, said: ‘Abbeyfield House would have provided Greg and his family the ideal set-up to ensure Lovelle received the 24 hour a day care she needs, whilst still allowing the whole family to be together within the potential new family home.
‘As for Lovelle’s care staff, they would have been able to stay on-site, including sleeping there, which in itself would have made their roles that much more comfortable as there wouldn’t have been a need to keep transporting Lovelle’s care equipment between buildings.’
A council spokesman said: ‘Castle Point Borough Council was categorically not set on securing the property at all costs.
‘An evaluation was made to establish the market rate for the property, and an offer was accepted at £100,000 below the asking price.
‘As is standard practice, we were not aware of any details about other bidders.’
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