FAMILIES have been left fuming after being told they only have 14 days to clear out their belongings from garages which some have rented for more than 50 years.

They are angry letters containing their personal information were posted on the front of the garages last week by housing association GreenSquare, which owns the 18 garages in Queens Crescent.

The letter says the garages will be sold because the association says managing and maintaining them is no longer viable for us. It says it is only required to give one week’s notice but "In this instance we are giving you two weeks’ notice."

Jackie Scamp, who has rented two garages for more than 30 years, said: “I think it’s disgusting, I think the whole thing has been handled really badly.

“It was my neighbour who found the letter on the doors, I was angry and shocked.

“When we bought the house we asked if we could buy the garage but they said no and we thought that’s fine because we can rent them.

“We pay nearly £1,200 every year for them so they are getting plenty of income.”

Chippenham Town Councillor for the area, Sylvia Gibson, said: “I think GreenSquare have handled it very badly, they should have had a consultation to assess the situation and needs of the residents.

“All they have done is raise a lot of anger amongst residents who are concerned what will happen next.”

As well as losing storage space, residents are also concerned about the car parking situation, which they believe is already at breaking point due to Queens Crescent Primary School down the road.

“At the moment there’s just about enough room to get by but when this happens it’s going to be a free for all,” said Sue Wride.

“It doesn’t just affect us, everybody is going to be fighting for a space and I’m worried about my neighbours who can hardly walk, where are they going to park?”

Phil Bowley, GreenSquare’s head of strategic asset management, said: "Following a major review of all the properties and land we own, GreenSquare has made a business decision to sell a number of garage sites and other pieces of land at various locations across Wiltshire. These sites will be put up for sale in order to raise money to support us in achieving our core business aims – to provide new quality homes to people in housing need and to reinvest in local communities where we have properties.

"We wanted to ensure that all those renting garages affected were aware of the situation and arranged notification to be sent to each person’s home address as well as being posted on and in each garage.

"In all cases we've given more than the statutory requirement of one week's notice – and we will talk to individuals with exceptional circumstances to find out how we can help them through this process.

"Once the sites have been sold, it will be up to the purchaser to decide what happens next in each case."