My Battersea home not fit for purpose, says epileptic mum

By Charlotte Lillywhite, Local Democracy Reporter

A mum with epilepsy claims her health has declined in her ‘inappropriate’ council flat that takes no account of her fragile condition.

Remona Clarke, 46, was moved into the one-bedroomed flat in Battersea by Wandsworth council in 2014 – a property previously used as garages for flats above, before being converted into a ground-floor home.

She claimed the flat has caused her ‘stress’ and impacted her health after experiencing long-running issues with damp, mould and accessibility.

Wandsworth council said it strongly disputed Ms Clarke’s claims.

The mum has focal epilepsy, which causes seizures and blackouts, arthritis and asthma. It led to a previous ankle fracture and surgery which required a metal plate in her leg.

She said she felt the council had ignored a report from an occupational therapist in March 2022 stating she needed fully wheelchair-accessible housing.

The report said Ms Clarke was likely to become a permanent wheelchair user in the future and her property needed a level-access shower, meaning it would not have a step.

Her current flat only has a bath and she raised concerns for her safety if she has a seizure while getting into it.

She said: “The issue to do with the bath is I’ve already blacked out in there and ended up with damage to another side of my brain.”

She claimed she needs to be moved into another property to address the issue as the flat can’t be fitted with a step-free shower.

“Even if they were told to put in a shower, it wouldn’t be able to get put in this property because of the condensation,” she said. “It would make the condensation worse because this is not a property, it’s a [converted] garage.”

Ms Clarke said the flat is plagued by condensation and its ‘very old’ double glazed windows ‘get steamed up from the inside’. The occupational therapist report from March 2022 said there was ‘extensive evidence of black and white mould’ in the flat.

It added she had provided the occupational therapist with an earlier GP letter ‘requesting she is rehoused given the adverse effect of mould on her health, she experiences breathing difficulties and has had to attend A&E on several occasions because she could not breathe properly’.

The council carried out a mould wash in the property in October last year, but Ms Clarke says this did not remove all of it and the issues have persisted. She said: “There’s still mould over the walls and my things have still got mould on them. I’ve had to throw away more things.”

On top of replacing her belongings, she claimed she often has to eat in a local café as condensation in the flat causes her food to go off more quickly.

“No matter how many times they come back [to carry out a mould wash], it’s going to still come back because of the condensation,” she said.

A Wandsworth Council spokesman said: “Having recently inspected the property and met with the resident, we would strongly dispute this description of her housing situation.

“But we will continue to liaise with this tenant to discuss her housing needs and take whatever steps are reasonable and appropriate to improve her living conditions.”

Pictured top: Remona Clarke  (Picture: Charlotte Lillywhite)