Residents speak out over three-year 'nightmare' living next to a 'rat-infested derelict house smashed up by teenage yobs'

Residents of a Northampton neighbourhood have spoken of their three-year ‘nightmare’ of living next to a ‘rat-infested derelict house smashed up by teenage yobs’.

Number 2 Cartmel Place, in Eastfield, has been empty and boarded up for three years and counting, say neighbours.

Over the years, the property has become a haven for anti-social behaviour by the local ‘yobs’, says one resident.

The resident, who wishes to remain anonymous due to fear of reprisals from the local ‘yobs’, said: "At the end of our terrace we have a house that’s been vandalised so many times since it’s been empty. This is its third year being empty.

"Since it’s been empty our local yobs have broken in, kicked the front door in, smashed all the windows, paint everywhere inside and everything else. They’ve held parties in there. It’s a nightmare. The police are aware.”

Asked who the local yobs are, the resident said: “It’s teenagers. They come from all over. You know what the internet’s like, social media, ‘come on let’s have a party’."

The resident continued: "The back garden is like a tip, everything gets dumped over there. The fence is falling down. The brick wall’s been knocked down.

"It seems now like it’s an extension of Billing tip, everything goes over that garden. There’s a beautiful brown leather settee on top of the pile if anyone wants it.

“Now we’ve got rats running around our gardens. It’s just a mess. It’s unbelievable. It belongs to a homeless charity, which makes you laugh. Why would this building be standing empty for three years?”

Labour councillor Paul Joyce (Headlands) said: “It’s an absolute mess. I’ve been in touch with WNC’s Environmental Health department.

"We’ve tried every avenue. All the stakeholders that can be involved have been involved. It’s the company that own the property are not really doing anything.”

The property is leased by the Noble Tree Foundation, a charity which looks to house the homeless.

A Noble Tree Foundation spokesman said: “The building is owned by Home REIT, which is a real estate investment trust. We are the leaseholders for some of their properties, including number two Cartmel Place, which is boarded up at the moment.

"What does the future hold? We will work with the freeholder to turn this derelict building into a home for people, because that’s what we do.

"This is expensive. We’re going to have to completely redo it, almost rebuild it. As soon as we have got the funds, we will do that. I don’t see why we can’t be doing it this year. We should be in a position to get this all done within a few months.

"We want to move it from boarded up to family living in it as soon as we possibly can. The funds will come from the freeholder.”

Conservative councillor David Smith of WNC said: “WNC is aware of the concerns raised by local residents relating to this property. The council’s regulatory services and private sector housing teams are investigating the complaint and will take the appropriate action to ensure there are no environmental hazards which could cause a risk to the public. The council will work with the owners of the property to understand why the property remains unoccupied, and seek to bring the property back into occupation.”