Business owner taking empty buildings clean-up into his own hands

Frustrated at a lack of action over empty buildings in his eyeline from his city centre office, a Preston business owner has begun clean-up action.

- by Ed Walker

Chief executive of Delta Innovation Group Joe Hart has begun to secure the long-empty and vandalised Lanson House and College House exteriors which face him each day.

Working in OneCoWork, which was extensively renovated last year, Mr Hart says he regularly sees break-ins, discarded rubbish and more left strewn just yards from the offices he and the team work in and where they park their cars.

He said: "For me it was this suitcase that just summed it up.

"Abandoned on a strip of land since September last year. The contents of it left everywhere. No one bats an eyelid or wants to take responsibility for cleaning up."

Mr Hart, who used some of the volunteering days he receives as part of his job, took a few hours to start making security improvements - resetting pulled away slatsand lugging rubbish into a skip.

He said: "Yes, there is a risk in doing this myself but I am so fed up of seeing these buildings decay and being unsecured.