MALPAS residents are angry after being given just a week's notice to empty garages they have rented out for decades.

The notice has been given by Newport City Homes because of potential safety risks caused by structural problems with the garages.

The housing association apologised for not being able to do any prior consultation but said that, as safety is their priority, they have had to act quickly.

Gary Grant, 47, who rented a garage in the street he lives, Blaen y Pant crescent, for more than 20 years, said: “The problem is that we’ve only been given seven days’ notice.

“I’ve had no previous warning, I was never told that, in the future, the garages may have to be knocked down.

“I’m frustrated.

“We got the notice on September 21, saying we had to hand in the keys on September 28.

“I’m not prepared to do that, I’m not going to hand in my keys.”

John Willots, 76, who also lives in the crescent and has rented one of the garages for at least 30 years has emptied the garage, but hasn’t handed in the keys yet.

“At first, I was gutted - it’s unfair to ask us to leave at such short notice.” he said. “It has been nearly a week since the deadline and I can’t see they’ve done anything, which makes me angry.”

A Newport City Homes spokeswoman said they have assessed all their garages and those deemed as a potential risk are being emptied.

Problems include steel pins suffering corrosion and motor vehicle shunts that have damaged the walls.

Sharon Wilkins, head of housing and customer services said: “We must take appropriate measures to keep people safe, which is why garages are being fenced and made secure.

“We also have a responsibility to spend our residents’ money wisely and make sure that we get value for money.

“With this in mind, where we find garages that require repairs that are too expensive, they will be demolished.

“We apologise that it hasn’t been possible to do any prior consultation, but safety has to be the priority and we have had to act quickly.”