DON'T KICK US OUT

They're in the twilight of their lives. Safe in their units. But these men are being forced to leave, says Andrea Jutson
All Nobby Clarke wants is to stay in his home of 22 years. But ' at the age of 87 - the Ellerslie resident may have to shift if Housing NZ gets permission to bulldoze 38 flats for the elderly on Ladies Mile. "We're too old to move. Surely, they could wait for a few years until most of us go," Mr Clarke says. The flats would be replaced by a 66-unit development, but Mr Clarke and his neighbours fear they may not live to see it. Nor do they want it. The 20 or so residents in their 80s would have to move twice - first, to alternative housing, then back once their homes are rebuilt. They think all their homes need is a bit of a spruce-up. "There's nothing wrong with this place," says Mr Clarke, showing his clean and tidy rooms with mod-cons. Barry Green loves life in his block. He's lived in Ellerslie all his life, and 11 years at Ladies Mile. A group of them have put their names down for accommodation at Tripoli Rd, in Panmure as they don't want to be separated. "The people down there, nobody talks to each other, and you've got to keep an eye on your washing in case it goes missing," says Mr Green. He knows this because some Tripoli Rd residents have been staying at Ladies Mile while their own flats are done up. They don't want to go back either but they won't have to put up with a highrise like the one planned at Ellerslie. The original plans for Ladies Mile were for 72 units in four storeys, but have since been reduced to 66 units in three storeys. The residents say half of the 38 units at the current block have been empty for five years and more. "[Housing NZ] say there's a long waiting list, but they're not in any hurry to move them in," says Max Matthews, a resident of 15 years. Adriaan van Boheemen suggests simply rebuilding the smaller ones at the back, allowing the residents to move into empty flats on the complex. Housing NZ spokesman Graham Bodman says the flats have been left empty because of the planned revamp. He says the site is perfect for high density housing, and there is huge demand in Ellerslie. He adds the units built in 1963 desperately need renewing, but all the tenants will be supported as best they can. "Wherever possible, we will try to retain tenants within a close proximity of each other," he says. In fact, all the residents are afraid of losing the cosy village atmosphere they love so much at Ellerslie. The actions of previous governments, selling off state assets, and of the previous John Banks city council, which sold Ladies Mile to Housing New Zealand, have made Mr van Boheemen angry. "If there's a shortage of housing, who sold all the housing off?" He stopped working in his beloved vegetable garden when news came that the block might be destroyed five years ago. He's since watched it go to seed. "You could say there is a general air of despondency." A final decision on the plans for the new Ladies Mile units is before the Environment Court.