Peterborough pensioners given two months to leave home of more than 15 years

A group of Peterborough pensioners have been given just two months to leave their homes of more than 15 years.

Many of the residents in the 12 flats at Burghley Mansions on Broadway, near Peterborough city centre, thought the apartments they rent from private landlords Burghley Mansions Ltd would be the last home they would ever live in.

But now they have been told they will have to move out, after new landlords bought the block.

After receiving a letter on Monday, June 6, they have until Wednesday, August 10 to leave the flats.

The residents have said living in the building is like being with a family and have since been left devastated.

‘We had no idea it was going to happen’

Great grandmother Frances Bigley (76), who lives in the flats with husband Alec said: “Last Monday we had a letter hand delivered to the flats.

"We were very shocked. We had no idea it was going to happen. It really is out of the blue.

"We were just told that we had two months to get out.

"We love the area. We know it like the back of our hands. We know all our neighbours, and there is a real community spirit here. But I don’t think there is anything we can do. We are angry and upset about what has happened. The neighbours all feel the same.”

Frances said they had not been told what was going to happen to the building but she said: “We think they are being turned into luxury flats but we haven’t really been told anything.”

‘We thought we would be here until the end of our days’

Alec (72) said: “We thought we would be here until the end of our days. Everyone here thought that this was their last home.

"It really is a bit of a family here. We all help each other out. We don’t know where we will end up in Peterborough now.”

‘We are all happy living here. It is like a family’

Another resident, who asked not to be named said: “I have lived here more than 20 years. To just get a letter like that – we are all not happy. We all like living here. It is like a family. We are near town, we are near the park, we are all friends.”Sometimes it seems like no-one is interested in the older people here.

"We will not move out unless we have somewhere to move into.”

Alec added: “We don’t know where we will move to. We don’t know how big the new place will be, so we can’t plan for what we can keep, what we will need to get rid of. I don’t know what we can do.”

The Peterborough Telegraph has tried to contact Burghley Mansions Ltd for comment about why the tenants are being evicted and what is next for the building.

Letter received by residents

The letter received by the residents says:

“Thank you for being good tenants for the last five years but unfortunately our circumstances have changed, and we have no alternative but to serve you with a Section 21 of Housing Act 1988 two months notice. You are required to leave the property on or before August 10 2022.”