Flats dubbed 'open prison' to be redeveloped

Councillors have unanimously backed their authority buying a 14-storey building that was controversially converted from offices into temporary accommodation.

Conservative leader of Harlow Council in Essex, Dan Swords, said Terminus House had been "a massive postcard image of the decline of Harlow" and said the authority would redevelop the town centre site.

Opposition leader, Labour's James Griggs, said he ed the plans, but his primary concern was what would happen to the 150 to 200 people living there.

The council said it would take ownership once the current owner has re-housed the residents. The owner, Caridon, said the building had helped hundreds of people avoid homelessness.

Glen Lane, 65, has lived in the tower block in one room with an en-suite since 2018.

He described conditions as "the worst place I have ever lived in", saying it "feels like an open prison, probably worse than an open prison".

Mr Lane was homeless and said he struggled to get on the local council housing list.

"It's depressing. It's got a reputation this property. It's embarrassing when I put my address down," he said.

"I feel quite ashamed about it as I haven't always lived like this. I used to have my own property and job but I lost all that."

His room is only a few square metres in size. At the end of his double bed, the kitchen begins.

For the last eight months he said the property had been plagued with insects. He had used insect powder but they were still "climbing on me at night when I'm sleeping".

Crime rose by 20% in the area around Terminus House after it was turned into accommodation in 2018, according to police figures.

A BBC East and Panorama documentary highlighted the cramped conditions. In 2021, the government imposed a minimum size of 37 sq m (398 sq ft) on new office to flat conversions.

Harlow Council has become the largest landowner in the town centre, buying up buildings to regenerate them into new housing, leisure and retail space.

The authority's latest decision to buy Terminus House has brought uncertainty about the building's future.

Conservative leader Dan Swords said plans were being finalised on whether it would be demolished or redeveloped.

However, he said in any scenario it would look "completely different from that which it does now".

"The existing tenants, which have largely nearly all come through temporary accommodation from London boroughs, will be housed outside of Harlow," he said.

Labour's James Griggs argued that "sending them back somewhere else seems completely wrong".

He told the BBC that some people had been living there for years.

"There are families who now consider themselves Harlow families. They have children in Harlow schools, the parents are working in the town."

The redeveloped site would likely include housing. The local authority has not disclosed how much it was paying for it.

Emma Batrick, a charity organiser who s local families, said many people living in Terminus House would be "reeling at the news that their homes will be going".

"There is a real concern about the human element of this," she said.

Caridon, the company that owns Terminus House, said in a statement the building met "a pressing need for temporary accommodation at a time of limited options".

"The building has since ed hundreds of individuals and families in avoiding homelessness and finding stability during difficult periods," it said.

Speaking at his flat, Mr Lane welcomed Harlow Council's plans.

"I'm glad they are doing it. It definitely needs upgrading," he said.

But where he and others will end up living is not currently known.

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