Chapel-en-le-Frith mum with disabled daughter says her house isn't fit for purpose

Raegan Furness’s five-year-old daughter Kacie has a traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, is fed via a tube, visually impaired, and severely incontinent.

She needs specialised care and equipment but Raegan says her landlord Peaks and Plains do not understand how much space these items take up and the family is struggling.

The 33-year-old from Rosebay Gardens said: “I’ve been begging for help but no one seems to listen or care what we are going through.

Raegan Furness with the lift and other equipment that take up space in her home

"Every day life is so tough and people just don’t seem to realise how much we have been let down."

Raegan moved into the custom built house with Kacie and her eight-year-old daughter Amelia, who has ADHD, to help the family copy with Kacie’s disabilities, but she says she has faced a series of broken promises.

“We have a lift which takes Kacie downstairs straight into her bedroom but we were told the lift would be on the outside of the house,” she said.

"Having it inside means we have to keep the space below the lift clear and there is no space for a dining table so me and the girls have to eat on the floor which just isn’t right.

Raegan Furness in the downstairs changing room that cannot be used as it is needed to store supplies

"Since moving in here her teacher at Peak School says her physical development has regressed because we are unable to get it out and use it.

“I know people will say that I had a house built for me but we aren’t an ordinary family. We need more space but because we have a lot of medical stuff which takes up so much room that other people would not have.

"Neither Kacie or Amelia have any quality of life. They can’t play with their toys or have friends over because there is no space.

"This is no way to live. I need an extension either outwards or upwards so we have that room to store the things Kacie needs.

"I feel I’m fighting a broken system. But I will keep fighting because I know what my daughter deserves and this isn’t it.

In a statement to the Buxton Advertiser, Peaks and Plains Housing Trust said: “Ms Furness’s home was built specifically for her and her family’s needs.

“The trust mostly recently carried out additional improvement work to the house in 2020.

“Any future adaptations on this home would need to be based on need after assessment from the council’s occupational health team. To date we haven’t received any further recommendations.”

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