DISGUSTED neighbours forced live next to a rotting, rat-infested, sewage covered property have begged the owner for help – but he refuses.
Fuming residents say the crumbling once-grand detached home in Swindon, Wiltshire, is a “stinking” health hazard and “crawling with rats”.
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The bombsite of a property has been largely abandoned for more than 20 years.
Owner Mr Moledina bought Oxford House for £200,000 in 2006, but the ground floor windows were seen boarded up from 2009.
In 2013, he built two dormer loft extensions at the front of the property, but these windows are already boarded up with the rest of the property.
Mr Moledina, was given a deadline to begin renovation work on the Victorian building by the end of August this year.
Locals prayed their nightmares of living next door to the UK’s biggest housing wreck were nearing an end.
But Mr Moledina failed to carry out any repairs, or work on the property to the dismay of nearby residents.
Meanwhile, Swindon Council also confirmed it is unable to source the cash to carry out the much needed restoration from public funds.
Disappointed local Sue Newell, 71, summed up the local mood when she told The Sun: “It is an outrage. The owner should be absolutely ashamed of himself for letting it get into the state it is now in.
“He needs to be responsible and get this place fixed or sell it to someone who will restore it to its former glory.
“Right now it is a serious health hazard and we are all sick and tired of having to look at it every day and deal with the consequences of it falling into such a state.
“I often see rats crawling across the ground in front of the house where people dumped their rubbish and I’ve even seen one climbing the walls.
“It is shameful. No one wants to be seeing rats scuffling around because, let’s face it, they are prolific carriers of germs.”
Mrs Newell, who works at a hair salon two doors down from the unsightly property, said until recently there had been numerous squatters living at the property.
She claimed they regularly dumped their waste and filth outside the front door.
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She added: “The stench of sewerage and goodness knows what else was disgusting.
“It’s been empty since because I don’t think even squatters would be prepared to live there now – and it still stinks.
“Another problem is pigeons excreting everywhere while they gorge themselves on the rubbish that accumulates outside the building.
“Something needs to be done about this urgently.“
Sham Mohammed, 30, lives in another of Mr Moledina’s properties 50metres further up the road.
He rents a house of multiple occupancy and rarely sees his landlord, he said.
Mr Mohammed said he is baffled as to why Mr Moledina has not renovated the once-stunning detached property and chooses to leave it rotting away.
He said: “He seems like a good, fair landlord and I’ve never had any trouble with him but every time I look at Oxford House I have to shake my head and wonder why he’s let it get into this state.
“It is a shame and I can understand why locals are so angry.”
Meanwhile, Chris Evans, 67, previously told the Swindon Advertiser: “This is one of the most prestigious roads in Swindon and for the council to allow that to happen is pretty disgraceful.
“A bus load of passengers look at this every day and shake their heads in disbelief. I can’t believe it’s allowed to happen.”
Another resident, Agne, added: “It has become some sort of like freakish attraction for people to have a laugh and point at.
“You don’t know if you are going to be attacked walking home. If that house goes on fire, straight away it will spread into our house.
“This house needs to be knocked down. The council needs to get involved.”
A representative from Chalkhills Swindon Ltd, which owns number 60, said: “It’s been left in a sorry state and I don’t understand what his long-term goal is as his investment is devaluing.
“In all the years that he’s had it, he hasn’t benefited from any rental income really. He needs to get it sorted out or sell it.”
Mr Moledina, who lives in a semi detached former council house in Swindon – less than a mile from Oxford House – was unavailable for comment.
Swindon Council was contacted for comment.
Where you can find help
A LOCAL planning authority, or LPA, may serve a notice under section 215 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, TCPA, where the condition of land or buildings adversely affects the amenity of an area.
The section 215 notice requires the owner or occupier of the land to clean up the land or deal with the poor state of a building.
It can require a wide range of works to be carried out including clearance, demolition, re-building, external repairs.
Failure to comply can lead to prosecution in the Magistrates’ Court and a maximum fine of £1,000.
Further prosecutions can follow, with fines imposed on a daily basis.
If the notice isn’t complied with, the LPA has the power to enter the land and carry out the work themselves, charging the owner of the land for the costs involved.
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