Maidenhead & Windsor

The Maidenhead Royal Borough is delivering a determined "double whammy" in the ongoing battle against empty and derelict properties with the first ever compulsory purchase orders on three borough houses.

Maidenhead Council officers have this week posted CPO notices on a property in Wellington Road, Maidenhead, which has been empty and deteriorating for the last 28 years, and on a pair of semi-detached houses in Exchange Road, Sunninghill which have been empty for seven and ten years respectively.

The Maidenhead CPOs are being issued under the Royal Borough's proactive empty homes strategy introduced just over a year ago which aims to reduce the blight of empty and derelict homes by working with owners to provide guidance, advice and encouragement to bring their properties back into habitable use.

The Wellington Road, Maidenhead house has been the subject of complaints ranging from slates falling from the roof, rubbish, litter, an abandoned vehicle left in the garden, infestations of rats and mice and the frustration of local residents who fear that their properties have been affected in terms of value and saleability.

An inspection carried out last year revealed substantial holes in the roof, collapsed ceilings, damp furniture and clothing and wet rot, with the potential for dry rot which could spread to the adjoining property.

Maidenhead Local ward councillor, Clive Baskerville, said: "An empty property such as this one has a huge impact on the whole community, and I have received many complaints from concerned neighbours worried about the dangerous state of the property and its potential for attracting vandals and petty criminals.

"The CPOs really are a last resort - we have made every effort to resolve this situation without compulsory purchase orders, but our action will now mean the end of a problem which has been blighting the people of Wellington Road and neighbouring roads for nearly three decades.

"I am delighted that we now have a housing projects officer working to implement our empty homes strategy and ensuring that we respond to the government's drive to tackle the problem of eyesore properties."

Compulsory purchases notices are also going up this week on the pair of semi-detached houses in Exchange Road, Sunninghill, which have suffered from subsidence and are regularly used for the dumping of rubbish and household waste.

Cllr Simon Werner, lead member for Maidenhead public protection said: "Our officers have been called to these properties on many occasions to deal with rats and mice, unauthorised acess, vandalism and overgrown gardens. I visited the properties recently and it certainly surprised me how much damage can be caused to a once-attractive pair of houses by just ten years of neglect, weather and vandalism.

"Strenuous efforts have been made to encourage and persuade the owner to bring the pair back into decent habitable use, but to no avail. The ultimate duty of a local authority is to serve and protect the whole of the community, and statutory powers are now being used as a last resort."

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead