Residents from an estate near Leeds who have spent two years trying to save their homes are appealing for help to raise funds after an appeal was lodged by their 'landlords'.
Families in Wandsworth Drive and Sugar Hill Close in Oulton celebrated victory in October 2019 when the plans by Pemberstone to demolish around 70 homes were rejected by Leeds City Council.
However, the housing company lodged a further appeal against the decision in April and a public inquiry will be taking place on September 29.
This means the families are having to fight for their homes again.
They fear they will be faced with the threat of being kicked out of homes all over again if the developer wins the appeal.
Cindy Readman, 55, who has lived on the estate for 15 years, and the other families are now appealing for help to raise money which will be used to pay for legal fees.
She said: “We’re all feeling pretty miserable but we had an idea they’d put an appeal in, they left it until the last minute.
“We’re having to seek legal advice and the cost of that is an awful lot of money and we’ve only just got a third of it.
“We don’t know how long they will give us or what will happen after the appeal.
“We’ve got elderly people who live on the estate, ex miners who still live here and families who’ve been here for more than 50 years so it’s not nice.
“They’re not thinking about us and right from the start, they have not thought about us.
“Two and a half years ago we got a leaflet and that was about the consultation which wasn’t really a consultation. They were saying these are the houses we want to build but not for you.
“We are determined to have our voices heard."
Demolishing the homes would affect more than 100 people who live on the estate and they fear it could erase the historic value of the area.
On their crowdfunding page which can be accessed here, they said: "In October 2019 we won a small battle: Leeds City Council rejected our landlord Pemberstone's planning application.
"The wonderful councillors sat around that board argued that there was no justification for breaking up a community, an estate of long-time friends and neighbours who offer a vital safety net to each other.
"Thank you to everyone who supported us during those worrying months and years - through your solidarity and your donations, you helped us win that fight.
"Please help us again."
