A man claims he is living in a 'rat-infested' home on a derelict estate with only one neighbour but he won't move until he's offered more money.
Phill Campbell is one of two people living on an abandoned estate on Union Street in St Helens in Merseyside.
When he moved into the street 16 years ago, he thought he would spend the rest of his days there, report Liverpool Echo.
But now, the 70-year-old finds himself "living in the middle of a demolition site" surrounded by boarded up windows, which resemble a ghost town, and vermin.
Phill's home on forms part of the Gerard's Bridge estate, where housing association Torus has plans to demolish 61 homes due to concerns about their "future sustainability" and "wider environmental issues."
The association has had success in relocating and rehousing all the tenants - apart from Phill and his neighbour.
This is because the pair own their homes, and are yet to reach an agreement with Torus to buy them out, with Phill saying: "They first approached me about three years ago now. They said 'what would you say if we made an offer to buy your property?'
"Since then and now they've rehoused all of their tenants in this area. So there are two houses that remain occupied - there's myself, and the people two doors down. We both own our properties."
He went on to say that around 18 months ago, Torus offered to buy him out at £81,000 for his three-storey home. However, he turned it down on the grounds that he would need a substantially bigger amount to buy another home elsewhere.
In hopes that this would be the case, Phill sent a counter offer to Torus - and even mentioned he is open to the idea of a property swap - but claims he has not heard back from them - and has now been left "living in limbo".
Torus however has said that both remaining homeowners were "made an offer for their property based on an independent market valuation."
The housing provider went on to add that it cannot move forward with any regeneration plans until all the residents have moved out and it will "reengage with the owner occupiers to discuss the situation in an attempt to find a resolution.”
Speaking about this, Phill said: "I'm not being unreasonable in anything I ask. I bought this house as a retirement property and I was prepared to spend the rest of my days here.
"The problem is I'm a pensioner, I'm 70 years old now, and I'm living in the middle of a demolition site and my kitchen is infested with vermin. I do feel isolated and quite vulnerable."
However, reportedly, there are currently no agreed plans to develop the site once the demolition takes place, despite residents voting on plans to demolish the houses in July 2019 - with 78 per cent of those that voted backing the demolition.
And regarding the rat problem, Torus recently sent someone out to tackle the issue - but Phill says they have returned, adding: "If your property is in the middle of empty properties and people are throwing refuse into the empty properties you're going to have vermin."
A Torus spokesperson said: "We appreciate that rats are an issue in the areas and continue to work with both our own and the Councils pest control teams to manage the situation."
Meanwhile, the housing association also added that it is, "committed to the regeneration of Union Street and the wider community but there is no agreed scheme for the redevelopment of this site at the present time," after there have been reports by residents of anti-social behaviour becoming an increasing problem on the estate.
Many locals have said that the problem has gotten worse since the houses have been empty, despite 24-hour security roaming the estate to stop them entering the boarded-up houses.
Ewa Wilinska, 36, who lives in the shadow of Union Street, said gangs of youths regularly set fire to the empty houses and throw bricks through the windows. She said: "We have quite a lot of problems with kids around here. They're burning rubbish and it's not really safe for us.
"If you walk over there all the time some place is burning. All the time there's rubbish, all the time there's glass.
"It's frustrating. I can't go out with my little lad because all the time there's something - glass, rubbish."
Like Ewa, her neighbour Angelika Tysko, 38, also feels forgotten. Angelika said: "This area has a problem with drugs and anti-social behaviour. The kids are doing everything - smashing windows, everyday they are setting fires.
"When people started to move out, kids started breaking windows, damaging everything and moving fences."
And Denice, 49, who first moved into the area 10 years ago, said that what once felt like a community is no more, ever since the houses have started emptying.
She said: "Since they started emptying the houses that's what's changed. We've had drug users in there, kids setting them on fire. People have gone who lived there before - it's just a derelict estate now.
"They're overrun with rats because of people dumping rubbish. If they're not going to demolish them put people in them.
"I don't want to stay now my friends have gone. There isn't that community spirit anymore."
Paul Warburton, Torus Group Housing Director, said: "Torus are fully committed to the regeneration of the areas and we understand the length of time this is taking has been frustrating for residents.
Unfortunately, Torus cannot move forward with any regeneration plans until all the residents have moved out, as partial demolition is not an option due to utility supplies and prioritising people's safety and wellbeing.
"Although we cannot comment on an individual case, we can confirm that owner occupiers have been made an offer for their property based on an independent market valuation, unfortunately these offers were refused, we will remain in contact with these residents to try to reach a solution.
"Our focus, over the past few months, has been rehousing Torus residents, which has taken some time. We can confirm that as of last week, they have been rehoused to other properties. Our focus can now return to the two owner occupiers and do apologise for any delays in getting back to them."
They continued to say: "We are aware of the ongoing issues around anti-social behaviour, and we continue to work with the Police to try to address these issues as well as the 24-hour on-site security we have implemented. We appreciate that rats are an issue in the areas and continue to work with both our own and the Councils pest control teams to manage the situation. We have also provided fencing to the site to prevent access and fly-tipping.
"We are sorry these ongoing issues are causing upset to the surrounding residents and we will be in contact with them over the next few weeks to provide further updates, we will also be looking to reengage with the owner occupiers to discuss the situation in an attempt to find a resolution.”
Merseyside Police's St Helens local policing Inspector Stacey Pope said: “We take the issue of antisocial behaviour very seriously and would urge residents to report any concerns and we will take action. We continually work with local organisations and schools in the community to engage and educate children on acceptable behaviour.
“Our local policing team have also given advice to the housing association on improving security on the site. In addition we attend regular meetings with partner agencies, including housing associations and the local authority, to discuss any incidents of anti-social behaviour so we can respond accordingly and provide a visible presence to tackle any issues.”
They have urged anyone with information about anti-social behaviour in the area can contact them by sending a DM to @MerPolCC, calling 101 or contacting Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
