Homeowner kept redevelopment on hold for a decade

A HOMEOWNER who refused to leave their ‘horrendous’ block of flats held up the completion of a major regeneration project for a decade, it has been revealed.

The resident, who has not been identified, clung on to their ground floor flat at Abbey Fields, in Erdington, turning down offers and “holding the city council to ransom”, it has been alleged.

The rest of the block lay empty and became a magnet for drug-taking and anti-social behaviour.

But the saga is now set to end after the authority forced through a compulsory purchase order. It will bulldoze the four-storey maisonette building in a matter of weeks. The stand-off emerged as the planning committee approved demolition of the block on Rowden Drive.

Cllr Bob Beauchamp, on the committee, said: “This has been going on for a long, long time. Someone bought their premises and held the city council to ransom for a good ten years by not vacating it and by taking it to its ultimate end.”

The estate, formerly known as Lyndhurst, was largely built in the 1960s and was identified for major regeneration by the council, which owned most of it, in 2003. The project involved the clearance of 237 flats and maisonettes. In 2007 the council agreed compulsory purchase powers could be used where sales could not be agreed.

Plans to build 316 homes on the estate were approved back in 2010 and while the majority of them have since been delivered the project remains unfinished because of the block on Rowden Drive. Cllr Gareth Moore, who represents Erdington and sits on the planning committee, said: “This has been a long-standing issue. The crux of it is the estate was being cleared and the last resident wanted a reasonable offer but the housing market crashed in 2008.

“The council made an offer and they were not satisfied and have held out ever since.”