Ukrainian family in Fife offered temporary home in Dumfries

A Ukrainian family faces being relocated more than 130 miles away from their new home due to a shortage of suitable housing in Fife.

Tetiana Repa's family moved to Cupar after fleeing the war last year.

The children are in school, the parents are in work, and their grandparents have also relocated to the town.

However their housing arrangements are coming to an end and Fife Council have only been able to offer them temporary accommodation in a Dumfries hotel.

Fife Council said it was working to explore other options to keep the family together until a more local option becomes available.

Dumfries is more than two-and-a-half hours drive away from Cupar.

The family fear such a move would separate them from their elderly grandparents who are settled with a different sponsor.

They also worry about disruption to their employment and schooling.

Tetiana's 16-year-old son, Ioan, is due to sit his exams at a local school in the next few weeks.

Ioan said: "We have our grandparents here and they are old, so they have some health problems and they can't be without us.

"They don't know any English words so they will just disappear without us."

The family moved to the UK under the Ukraine sponsorship scheme but their accommodation arrangements are due to come to an end.

Ms Repa's sister Olga Karpova made the journey from Ukraine to live with them in October when she was pregnant. She now has a four-month-old son.

She said moving to temporary accommodation in Dumfries would disrupt their newly established lives in Fife.

"The flat is very good and we really appreciate the opportunity to stay here for so long and to stay safe and go away from the war," she said.

"We don't know what to do because we really appreciate that Fife Council provide this opportunity to move to a hotel.

"But this hotel is two and a half hours away and it is not in Fife, it's near the border with England."

She also worries that it is temporary accommodation.

"So everybody would have to leave their lives that are quite settled here, to quit their jobs, to quit nursery, school, college, to start a new life again like it was last year when we left Ukraine," she said.

The Dumfries hotel also does not allow pets, so they would have to give away the family cat.

Fife Council's resettlement coordinator Valerie Husband said: "The council is under extreme pressure to meet housing needs with the number of households using the service reaching unprecedented levels.

"This challenge is being felt by all councils across Scotland.

"We're working with the family affected and continue to discuss and explore options."

She said their priority was to allow the family to stay together under a more settled alternative could be found locally.

"We'll support any guest whose arrangement is ending to find alternative accommodation, and individual circumstances do affect what we can do to help," Ms Husband added.

"Sponsors are asked to commit to a minimum of six months which they can extend at their discretion.

"We appreciate the generosity shown by sponsors and respect decisions taken on their involvement with the programme.

"We remain in contact with the sponsor and have recommended further independent advice is sought on their intentions."