Residents have been left baffled after their housing association demanded they stop meeting on their garden furniture - because it's a health and safety hazard.
Orbit Housing, which owns the bungalows that line Hopeville Avenue in Broadstairs, Kent, says the items used as a “wellbeing hub” could be dangerous.
But residents, many of who are elderly and live alone, insist the meeting place is vital for their mental health - and that losing it would be devastating.
They said the decision is "health and safety gone mad".
Lyndon Brand, who moved to the area two years ago, created the hub in his front garden shortly after throwing a party for the King’s coronation.
It consists of four wooden chairs with side tables and a picnic bench.
The group grew, but just as it reached its height at the end of last month, Orbit Housing posted a letter through residents’ doors.
Orbit Housing, which owns the bungalows that line Hopeville Avenue in Broadstairs, Kent, says the items used as a “wellbeing hub” could be dangerous.
But residents, many of who are elderly and live alone, insist the meeting place is vital for their mental health - and that losing it would be devastating.
They said the decision is "health and safety gone mad".
Lyndon Brand, who moved to the area two years ago, created the hub in his front garden shortly after throwing a party for the King’s coronation.
It consists of four wooden chairs with side tables and a picnic bench.
The group grew, but just as it reached its height at the end of last month, Orbit Housing posted a letter through residents’ doors.
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FunTranscript
00:00The reason for setting this up, this hub, Hopeville Friends and Neighbours Hub,
00:05was for the well-being of my neighbours and also myself as well really. Our mental health,
00:12the physicalities involved with my neighbours, they're elderly, they're a little bit older than
00:16me and they need help. They're single, living in single lives in single houses and it's very
00:23difficult for them to get out and associate with each other. So when I moved in, I'm a bit gregarious
00:30so I decided to say hello to all my new neighbours and then ask them about, oh that neighbour over
00:35there you just like you know nodded to, what's her name? And kind of like the answer might be
00:40don't really know. So I decided to get everybody talking, make it a community rather than just a
00:48collection and so this impromptu hub started. I started a Facebook, I started a WhatsApp page
00:57so as they can instantly put a message out that will go to all members. The seating that we've
01:02got at the moment, which is in question, came about through firstly the King's Coronation.
01:09Generally we're just about at capacity now so it's almost like we need more seating but we
01:15don't want to do that because Orbit has taken exception to this as a hub of like peace and
01:23tranquility and mental help and physical help to anybody, whoever wants to come over at any time,
01:29passers-by, dog walkers sit down and have a cup of tea with us. It's really, it's a really nice
01:36feeling to help people so what we're trying to do is keep that. Now it's substantially here,
01:46we'd like to keep it, Orbit don't want that and it would, personally speaking, it would completely
01:52cripple me if they took this away. Not because it's outside the front of mind because I started
02:00it, because many days when I'm not even here people will still come and gather because they
02:06know it's a gathering spot. If this went, this hub, I'd be devastated not only for me but for everybody else.