A mother has warned her depressed daughter’s life will soon be “ruined” when play equipment is removed under the orders of a housing authority.
Michelle Linbourne, 42, lives in Bibstone, Kingswood, with her two young daughters - the elder of whom has M.E. and depression.
But the family are distraught over an instruction from housing organisation Bromford to remove hundreds of pounds’ worth of equipment from their shared garden.
Anticipating the impact on her elder child, Miss Linbourne said: “To them [Bromford] it’s just a few bits of equipment, but to me it’s my child’s life.”
The Bibstone cul-de-sac contains several housing blocks boasting more than 30 flats which enjoy the use of shared gardens.
Some flats are owned by Bromford, according to Miss Linbourne, while others are privately owned. Miss Linbourne rents from a private landlord.
Since moving in around five years ago, Miss Linbourne has spent more than £300 on outdoor kit including swings, slides, a playhouse, a trampoline, a see-saw and a sandpit.
Her seven-year-old daughter Scarlet relies heavily on the equipment to lift her moods, she says.
But Miss Linbourne is now concerned for Scarlet’s future because, she says, her landlord has been told by Bromford that the equipment must be removed as it contravenes policy.
Miss Linbourne says she had never previously been made aware of that rule - and neither had her neighbour, Tess Heaton-Byers, a former psychiatric nurse, who has lived on the street for 23 years.
Ms Heaton-Byers, 50, said play equipment has been in the garden for the entire time she has lived on the street.
She added: “Obviously if we knew we weren’t allowed to have play equipment we wouldn’t have spent hundreds of pounds having it in our garden.”
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According to Miss Linbourne and Ms Heaton-Byers, Bromford has demanded that the equipment is taken away within 14 days - otherwise the organisation itself will arrange for removal and charge an inflated price.
Miss Linbourne told Bristol Live that when she broke the news to Scarlet it had a dramatic effect.
“At the moment, because of all this stress, she has got mouth ulcers and she can’t sleep well because of somebody wanting to take her equipment,” said Miss Linbourne.
“It’s so rare for a child to have M.E. and for her to have this taken away from her, it’s going to ruin her life.”
Bromford’s head of locality Natalie Robertson said: “We take our responsibility for the health and safety of our customers seriously and need to ensure that we minimise risks at all times.
“We understand that this is frustrating for our customers at Bibstone, but ultimately we are responsible for ensuring all our communal areas are safe and clear and that there’s no risk to anyone.
"Customers and their families are welcome to use the outdoor space at the flats to play and relax in but we ask that any play equipment is packed away after use.”
