Disabled Eastwood woman blasts Broxtowe Council over housing woes
An Eastwood woman has hit out at Broxtowe Council for what she says has been continued ignorance of her issues and requests to improve her housing.
Michelle Brown, aged 40, is registered disabled and has a number illnesses and since-birth defects, including MS, fibromyalgia and Coeliac Disease.
But despite this, she says the council still won’t modify the kitchen in her bungalow to make it disabled-friendly.
She says the authority already says it is modified for a disabled person but Ms Brown says this is not true.
And the issue is just the latest in a long-running series of disputes Ms Brown has had with the council stretching all the way back to 2018.
And now, she says, she has had enough.
She said: “My old property needed underpinning and it was never done.
"They left me in that property when it was falling down and I ended up back on anxiety medication because I was so worried my ceiling was going to fall down.
"I actually could have got Environmental Health out to declare the building as derelict as it was so bad.
“I bought a new kitchen for it but it couldn’t go in because the floor was so uneven.
Ms Brown says she was eventually moved into a new home – but it is still wrong.
She continued: “The council says it’s a disabled building but it just isn’t.
"I’ve got wheelchairs and walkers I need to use and I can’t in this building.
"But despite me constantly asking them to help me, they are refusing to do anything because I don’t qualify.
"I’ve got all these illneses and conditions and I apparently don’t qualify.
"To get to my kitchen, I have to walk 20 metres and when you’re in constant pain becuase I’ve got inflamation in my joints, walking anywhere for any distance is very difficult.
"I’ve asked for repairs to be done and they haven’t been, the bathroom’s been put in wrong because I’m disabled and I need a wet room and they won’t redo it because they say it’s a repair job and I get passed from pillar to post.
"My fridge-freezer is my front bedroom because the council won’t take a cupboard out in the kitchen to get the fridge in.
"I told the occupational therapist that I needed a double oven as they don't understand my illnesses.
"I’m gluten-free and you can't share any normal food in a gluten-free kitchen.
"They don't seem to know anything about Coeliac Disease or anything about cross-contamination in a cooker.
"In fairness, my partner needs a kitchenette really because it’s different foods and different cooking areas and it’s all got to be kept separate.
"The don't seem to understand how my medical conditions work or remotely feel like and they have known about this since February.
"It’s just one thing after another and the strain on my mental health has got so bad now, I’m actually talking to a psychologist.”
A council spokesperson said: “In line with our Aids and Adaptations Policy, tenants in need of aids and adaptations in their properties must make a self-referral to Nottinghamshire County Council.
“Broxtowe Council is required to consult with the occupational therapists at the county council, who in turn will make recommendations to the housing department on the necessity of work required to ensure this meets all the disabled person’s needs.
“The council have been in touch with the tenant to inform them of this process and currently, as of December 16, 2025, our team have not yet received a referral for this tenant.”