AUCTION D-DAY LOOMING FOR ‘NIGHTMARE’ LAND

Hopes sale will put stop to boozy summer barbecues

A POTENTIALLY lucrative Stoke-on-trent piece of land where houses could be built is to be sold at auction.

The 0.25-acre plot in Kimberley Street, Longton, is to go under the hammer next month with a guide price of £200,000-plus.

It was given outline planning permission for eight terraced houses a year ago, but investigators said the land may be ‘at risk’ from historical mining activity nearby. Any buyer must commission investigations to ensure it is safe before building.

Many neighbours are keen to see the plot developed, claiming it has become a ‘nightmare’ location for boozy barbecues in the summer.

But pensioner Christopher Pugh, left, said he did not believe housing should be built there. He said: “In the summer kids play football there, but people do drop a lot of litter on the land. It is an eyesore. They should get it cleaned up so the kids can play on it. They should mow the grass and look after it.”

Mr Pugh’s daughter, Kerry Pugh, 39, said: “Let them put the houses on. It has been empty for 20-odd years.”

Gavin Lovatt, aged 39, said: “It doesn’t bother me whether they build houses on it or not. The kids used to play on it but they don’t cut the grass anymore.

It is a bit of an eyesore at the moment.

“The only thing that would really bother me is the builders working when people who work nights are trying to sleep.”

Ricky Cooper, aged 37, of Glencoe Street, which backs on to the land, added: “I welcome the land being bought and developed. The kids play football there and bikes come over it which irritates the dog.

“In the summer people have barbecues and paddling pools there. They are out there drinking and arguing. It is just a nightmare.”

The Butters John Bee auction will be held at The Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, Festival Park, on April 3 at 6.30pm. The Kimberley Street plot is lot 15.