‘Time council stepped in over dangerous and rat-infested factory’
A DISUSED factory that has been out of use for more than two decades has left neighbours fed-up and concerned about the health and safety risks.
The property in Kings Newton Street, in a residential area of Highfields in Leicester, has been left abandoned and rat-infested, according to residents.
Now, Leicester City Council says it may be forced to take court action to make the privately-owned premises safe for neighbours.
Nusrat Bhatti, who lives in a house behind the factory, said that the family had witnessed the rundown building fall into further disrepair over the past two decades.
The 48-year-old said: “You can see shattered windows from our garden and it’s been left a mess for years.”
She added that the rats that are often seen around the old factory have also infested the family’s garden shed.
After a change in ownership last year, scaffolding was erected around the exterior walls of the factory, encroaching onto neighbouring gardens, but residents say they were not consulted beforehand.#
Another resident, who did want to be named, said: “The builders actually climbed into our gardens to put up the scaffolding and we weren’t even told about it!”
He added: “When we had really bad winds one day last year, there were bits of metal coming off the building. It’s just not safe.”
Since the scaffolding was put up, residents said work has been sporadic, often left for several weeks on end.
Bricks and rubble have also fallen into gardens.
Despite the property not being council-owned, Nusrat said the health and safety risks around the
RESIDENTS FED UP WITH CONTINUING PROBLEMS
property needed to be dealt with as a matter of urgency and added that, as far as she was concerned, the council had a duty to step in.
She added that efforts had been made by herself and her neighbours to contact the council on the matter previously, but nothing had changed.
“The walls were on the verge of falling down. Why wait until a disaster happens to do something about it?” she said.
A spokesperson for Leicester City Council confirmed that a new owner of the building has been contacted and that the matter could lead to “court action” being taken.
The Mercury was unable to contact the owner of the building for comment.
In a full statement, a Leicester City Council spokesman said: “We are aware of the change of ownership of this property and had been pursuing the former owner to carry out works.
“We spoke to the new owner and he erected scaffolding to do the work, however the work is happening too slowly, is not sufficient and is not of an acceptable standard.
“We are now speaking to the owner again and if he does not respond, we will move to a more formal process, which can result in court action, compelling him to carry out the work needed.
“We will also visit the site and will attempt to talk to residents.
“Residents should have been asked permission and agreed to scaffolding being located in their gardens and the scaffolding should have netting to prevent items from falling – however this is the responsibility of the Health & Safety Executive and we have notified them.”