On 12 January 2021, legal proceedings were commenced against Hft on behalf of Katie Gange, who is one of the 33 vulnerable residents of Furlong Close who are slated to be “moved on” by Hft and Wiltshire Council. Katie, who is 41, has a rare epileptic seizure disease and severe learning disabilities.  Katie has difficulty communicating and needs help to get around, but she loves people and has a great sense of humour and a happy disposition.  Katie has lived at Furlong Close for the last 11 years and is happy, settled and well-cared for there.  Katie’s mother and brothers fear that, if Katie is now forced to move from her long-term home, the stress of this will cause her epilepsy to get worse and that she will withdraw into herself and become miserable, introverted and lonely. The proceedings have been brought in the High Court of Justice and ask the Court to urgently quash Hft’s decision to close Furlong Close.  The grounds for the application are that Hft’s decision has breached Katie’s human rights by unjustifiably and disproportionately interfering in her right to her home, without giving proper consideration to the impact on her of being forced to move and without any consultation with Katie or her family. The application is supported by statements from 17 family members or friends of Katie and other residents of Furlong Close and representative statements from 17 supportive members of the local community, including the local Councillor for Rowde, the Rector of the local church and the clerk of the Parish Council.  The application seeks a response from Hft by 5 February 2021.

Meanwhile, we are working hard to get 5,000 signatures for our petition, which should give us enough to force a debate at Wiltshire Council’s upcoming Council meeting in February.  Please, if you can just get one more friend to sign, we will be able to achieve this goal and keep the pressure on Hft and the Council to save Furlong Close.