Neighbours in the market town of Darwen, Lancashire, say action should be taken as a property – branded an “eyesore” – has been empty and seemingly abandoned for some time
A property has been branded “an eyesore” as neighbours say it has been abandoned and boarded up for 10 years.
The terraced house, which is on a main road through Darwen, Lancashire, has been blasted for its unsightly green metal screens and unkempt appearance.
Neighbours say the council should do more to ensure the owner takes care of the terraced house’s appearance, but the authority says it is “a commercial property.”
Another house on the same street was made subject of an enforcement warning notice last September but it is believed this was, indeed, a residential property. Nevertheless, the property with the green frontage is believed to have been derelict for a decade.
Speaking to Lancashire Live, Lisa, who lives nearby, said: “It doesn’t seem right that the owner of that other house has noticed plastered on his door and yet the house with the green screens has been like that for far longer. It’s in a really prominent place and you can’t help but clock the horrible green screens whenever you go past. It’s been like that for years and years and I’m sick of it.”
And James Hargreaves, who has lived on the road for 37 years, said: “It seems wholly unfair to me that the council don’t seem to be doing anything about the greenhouse, as we call it, and yet they’re demanding that the grieving son of that old chap who died do something about the house.”
With the latter, it is believed the occupant died around 18 months ago and the council is assisting relatives with the next steps in the house’s future. The green property has been used, on the other hand, for commercial use, it is understood.
“This is a commercial property, under private ownership. We have contacted the owner to establish their plans for the property. Where it is appropriate to do so, we will not hesitate to take enforcement action,” Martin Kelly, Strategic Director of Growth & Development at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, said.
The Mirror recently reported how a creepy abandoned house – once covered in graffiti and overrun with vermin – had an amazing facelift.
The semi-detached property in Glasgow had become an eyesore after it was boarded up and left to decay for nearly a decade. The property, which had been a “nightmare” for local residents has now undergone a massive renovation at the hands of Connaire McGuinness, a paramedic turned-property developer.