There’s nowt so stubborn as a Yorkshireman
( who won’t move after rest of his terrace is flattened to widen road )
Standing alone next to the main road, arthur newey’s now-detached house is a symbol of his defiance.
the row of terraced houses that once adjoined his home were demolished long ago.
But for 18 years the pensioner has blocked the council’s attempts to force him out and knock his home down too so they can widen the road.
the implacable Yorkshireman is now battling a fresh bid by the local authority to launch a compulsory purchase of his three-bedroom house in Rotherham.
Mr newey described the council as ‘rotten pigs’ and has no intention of giving up without a fight. He said he will only consider selling if they offer him £1million for the property. the great-grandfather also said he has become something of a community hero and that he is treated like a celebrity when he goes down the pub.
Mr newey, who has six children, seven grandchildren and five greatgrandchildren, has lived his entire life in Rotherham and bought the house around 40 years ago.
Rotherham Council first attempted a compulsory purchase, where councils can seize land without the owner’s consent, in 1999. Mr newey appealed to then deputy prime minister John Prescott and in 2004 a public inquiry ruled in his favour.
Mr newey believes the stress of taking on the council to save their beloved home played a part in the death of his his wife Barbara, 73, from cancer in 2007.
now, after years of inactivity, the council has launched a fresh bid to knock down his home so they can widen the a630 road. three weeks ago two officials visited and said they wish to value and buy the house.
the retired electrician said: ‘i told them i want £500,000 for the house and £500,000 compensation for what they have done to me.
‘if they promise to pay me £1 million i might consider it.
‘if they go ahead with this i will take it to a public inquiry again. i know the system inside out now. Last time it was me against two barristers and John Prescott ruled in my favour and i’ll do it again on my own if nec- essary.’ He added: ‘they will not get away with it and they will not get my house.
‘Everyone is supporting me. i’ve had a message from someone in California and if i go down the shops i get mobbed. it’s a fight against bureaucracy.’
Mr newey was offered £32,000 the first time, and his neighbours in the other four houses sold up. in 2007 a suspicious fire wrecked the four empty homes and they were later knocked down, with a new outer wall built around Mr newey’s solitary home.
these days he sleeps downstairs on a mattress in the living room and his tractor, which he sometimes uses to go to the shops, is parked outside.
Mr newey’s daughter nancy thorpe said: ‘it’s absolutely disgusting what the council is doing. He’s a very clever man who speaks his mind, as the council has already found out.’
Mr newey insists he isn’t blocking a vital highways scheme, arguing that while the road does get busy, ‘they could widen it on the other side but that would mean a bend in the road and they don’t want that.’ Paul Woodcock, of Rother-
‘I might consider it if they pay me £1million’
‘They will not get away with it’
ham Council, said there are ‘ongoing problems with congestion’ and that officers visited Mr newey to see if he was willing to sell after a For Sale sign was seen outside his house.
Mr newey said it was briefly put up months ago ‘ by my grandson as a joke’.