Council to offer £50k for derelict property

'WOULD DRIVE YOU MAD IF YOU WERE A NEIGHBOUR'

- By CHRISTOPHER HARPER

A DISTRICT council is set to offer more than £50,000 to buy an abandoned property that has caused misery for neighbours.

The property, at 65 Station Road, Kegworth, has been abandoned for more than 24 years, leading to antisocial behaviour.

Now North West Leicestershire District Council has been given the green light to buy the property for £50,525, which it will offer to the owner.

However, over the last decade, the council has written to the owner more than 30 times, and officers have received only one response in almost 25 years.

If the owner does not accept the council's offer, the local authority will use its compulsory purchase order (CPO) powers to acquire the property with the aim of bringing it back into use as a home.

CPO powers can result in a lengthy legal process, which prompted council officials to recommend buying the home from the owner instead.