Neighbours have described how their lives are being blighted by fires and vandalism at an abandoned home on their street. The house, on Horsham Drive in Top Valley, Nottingham, was subject to an enforced sale decision by Nottingham City Council in 2021 after the homeowner repeatedly missed payments and accrued a large amount of debt.
But a year later the property has still not been sold, with neighbours saying it remains a magnet for anti-social behaviour. They say there's been constant issues for others living on the street since the property became vacant in 2009, with those living nearby citing pest problems, racist graffiti on the walls, and fires - the most recent being set on Friday, December 9.
Those living near the abandoned home were frustrated that nothing had been done with the problem property. Zoe Mason, 43, who works for the NHS and lives next to the "house of horrors", was disappointed the property had not been dealt with.
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"The latest fire was on Friday - there have been several fires which have come over into my garden. Since 2018 we have been hit about ten times.
"I'm on my fifth or sixth set of bins, all I have got at the minute is the wheels. There's mice in there now, you can hear them and that's bothering me now.
A resident living on the other side of the troubled property, who did not want to be named, recalled when a fire had stopped her from entering her garden. "It is an utter nightmare. The roof of the outhouse in the garden was blown off by a fire, so I had to stay inside while people in masks checked the asbestos from the roof which had come onto my garden.
"There's been numerous fires, I'm worried about our safety if they get any worse. I've lost two bins in the fires.
"There's also been racist graffiti put on the windows. I haven't heard or seen any mice, but my neighbour is concerned that there might be some in there."
Other residents spoke out about the long running saga. Mary Ward, 83, a retiree who lives on Horsham Drive, said: "There's been a lot of trouble there. We just need it to be sorted out. Top Valley has gone to ruin and to me it is just a sign of that. Nobody has done anything about it for a long time.
"It is not good enough for the neighbours or people that live here on the street. It definitely needs sorting, people do not need the extra trouble."
Nottingham City Council said it had hoped the property would be sold sooner, and that it understood this was still the owner's intention. The Council added it was considering forcibly selling the property if the owner did not act soon.
A Nottingham City Council spokesperson said: “We’ve been aware of this property for some years and know it has been an ongoing problem for neighbours, including several arson incidents.
“The council has been in regular contact with the owner and been assured that it will be sold. Unfortunately, this hasn’t happened as quickly as both we and local residents hoped but we understand it is still the intention.
“Our Environmental Health and Safer Places teams have undertaken enforcement action when needed, particularly to bring the property back into a reasonable condition from the outside and to repair external fire damage.
“An officer will visit to assess the property again to see if any formal action is required following the recent fire. The council is also considering options regarding forcibly selling the property if the owner doesn’t act soon – we will keep this under constant review.”
Nottinghamshire Police were contacted for comment.
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