Shahida Nasreen

Caring for a disabled relative is no easy job at the best of times. For Shahida Nasreen and her partner Mohammed Nawaz it has been doubly difficult.

For the past three and a half years, ‘home’ has been temporary accommodation – a hotel in Shepherd’s Bush – where they have both been carers to their disabled mothers.

“It was very difficult being in the hotel. Most of the time our mothers had to stay in their room,” says Shahida.

Now the family is making a fresh start, thanks to a new scheme by Octavia Housing and Care that includes some homes specifically for wheelchair users.

The £11 million Bourbon Lane scheme, part of the White City redevelopment, provides 78 homes for affordable rent and shared ownership. It is the result of an international competition to encourage Anglo-French collaboration in affordable housing design.

For Shahida and Mohammed it means they can now care for their mothers in a threebedroom house specially designed to meet their needs – with a downstairs bedroom, specially adapted kitchen, shower room and extra-wide doorways.

“We’re very happy with our new home,” Shahida says.