Family fails in court battle for extra bedroom for son with learning difficulties

A family has failed in its high court bid to get a council grant
to build an extra bedroom in their home for their 12-year-old son
who has Asperger’s Syndrome, writes Sally
Gillen.

The boy’s father had asked Mr Justice Stanley Burnton to rule
that Calderdale council had been wrong to refuse him a grant to
convert their loft.

The family had applied for the money because their son shares a
room with an eight-year-old brother who he hits and kicks.

Justice Burnton said he had “the greatest sympathy”
for the family, but their application did not meet the narrow
criteria for the grant, which is provided where a house is
considered unsafe.

The council had accepted that the provision of a separate
bedroom would be beneficial for the family, but the fact that the
younger sibling was subject to violence did not make the house
unsafe.