Rotting homes seized to tackle housing shortage (From Haringey Independent)

Rotting homes seized to tackle housing shortage

8:22am Sunday 4th May 2008 in

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Run-down houses blotting Tottenham's landscape could be sold at auction under Haringey Council's latest takeover plans.

Compulsory purchase orders were made to seize the rotting homes, at 97 to 99 Philip Lane, after negotiations with the owners broke down.

An offer of financial assistance to bring the properties - which are part of the same building and don't have a roof -back into use, and a proposal to buy the buildings were both refused.

Seven other houses in Tottenham and Wood Green have already been seized, as part of a council action plan to tackle the housing shortage in the borough, where more than 5,000 households are living in temporary accommodation.

The Philip Lane properties, which are located between the junctions of Mount Pleasant Road and Ranelagh Road, were previously used as a hostel. They were closed for refurbishment in 2002 and have been abandoned since then.

The building, which sits in the Tottenham conservation area, has become a dumping ground for rubbish and abandoned cars as well as a home to squatters.

Councillor Isidoros Diakides, cabinet member for housing, speaking after the compulsory purchase decision was made at a cabinet meeting last Tuesday, said: "We cannot allow properties to stand empty when there's so much housing pressure in Haringey.

"We offer a range of help to owners of empty properties to bring them back into use, but if they continually ignore these offers then we may be forced to take matters into our own hands.

"These are probably the most notorious buildings in all of Haringey. They completely ruin what's supposed to be a conservation area and other residents shouldn't have to put up with them."

The council must now wait to see if government permission is granted before selling the properties to registered social landlords or at a public auction.

Carolyn Baker, Liberal Democrat spokeswoman for housing, said: "We welcome action by the council to use its compulsory purchase powers to bring homes back into use. But more needs to be done.

"After decades of neglect by Labour in their housing stock, a few compulsory purchases is unfortunately just a drop in the ocean for the thousands of people waiting for accommodation, stuck in temporary homes or having to live in sub-standard or overcrowded properties."

Other houses compulsorily purchased are in Tower Gardens, Beaconsfield Road, Mount Pleasant Road and Carlingford Road, all in Tottenham, and Moselle Avenue, in Wood Green.

Elizabeth Pears