14/02/2007 - Agency backs fight against compulsory purchase
By Simon Ellery
The Empty Homes Agency has waded into the debate over housing demolitions in the north with an attack on ‘draconian’ compulsory purchase rules.
The agency gave its backing to Bury resident Valerie Bennett, who is fighting plans to evict her from her home, despite the fact that all the other homes in her street are unoccupied.
John Earnshaw, low demand project manager with the Empty Homes Agency, said compulsory purchase orders were a ‘draconian method of getting people out’.
He told Inside Housing: ‘They are an antiquated way of removing people from their homes and should be overhauled. These cases are going on all over the country.’
The issue was within the agency’s remit because a CPO was designed to bring a property back into use, he said.
‘What we are saying is that a lot of the people that have been CPO’d would rather have their house refurbished and not demolished,’ he added.
Bury Council is poised to raze 133 homes in Pimhole that it said would cost £60 million to refurbish. Residents opposed to the programme dispute claims the area suffers from ‘unfit’ homes and fear that at least a further 70 nearby homes will be demolished.
Ms Bennett has rejected a £47,000 offer from Bury Council, which obtained compulsory purchase orders on the homes, and has taken her battle to remain to the High Court.
Ms Bennett, 51, claims the offer is half the current value and, fears that, because she currently has no mortgage and is on benefits, she would face real difficulties getting a mortgage. And Bury council said it has ‘worked hard to deliver the scheme sensitively’ and added that homeowners were being offered market value plus payments to cover disturbance.