Elderly residents at a supported housing complex in West Lavington have been left “anxious and scared” following news of plans to vacate them.

Residents of Hedges House, on Mill Lane, recently received a letter that indicated plans to convert the complex into affordable housing, given the long-term sustainability of the Hedges House and rising maintenance costs.

The letter states: “If planning permission is granted, then there isn’t the option for anyone to remain at Hedges House.”

There are a mixture of flats and bungalows at Hedges House home to, among others, seven residents aged between 80 and 95, four between 65 and 79 and seven from 50 to 59.

One resident told the Gazette that older residents felt “anxious and scared.” She said: “We thought this would be out home for the time we have left. Some of us don’t have much time left, so the news is incredibly stressful to receive.”The deterioration of the property is purely down to lack of general maintenance. Aster have knowingly allowed things to deteriorate to the point - now - where it’s not financially viable for them to maintain the property any longer.

“The sad thing is that when residents are re-housed, they’ll lose touch with friends they’ve made here in the house and the local community. There’s very little chance there’ll be suitable places in West Lavington to move in to, so everyone will be split up.”

The letter states that the Aster Group anticipate the planning process to take at least 12 months, and that they would support residents “to start looking for a different home” if planning permission is granted.

A spokeswoman from Aster told the Gazette: “We know that this news is unsettling and we’ve spoken to all of our customers to reassure them. Over the coming weeks we’ll continue to talk to everyone involved to explain what might happen in the future and importantly to find out how they feel about any potential changes. We’re in the very early stages of this process and we’re committed to keeping our customers up to date every step of the way, so we’ll also offer ongoing support to all of our residents.

“Any changes to Hedges House will be more than a year away and until then we’ll continue to carry out any repairs and maintenance on the building as needed. We’d encourage customers to let us know about any issues by calling us on 0333 400 8222.”