Neglected house transformed

COUNCIL'S EMPTY HOMES TEAM HELP BRING BACK A 'WASTED HOME'

- CARL EVE

A RAMSHACKLE, abandoned family home in Plymouth has undergone an incredible transformation thanks to an intervention from council chiefs.

The three-bedroom house on Underlane in Plympton had been left to decay by its one-time owners over a period of nearly eight years.

The guttering had been removed, a rotten conservatory was near enough falling over to the rear while the entire house had been obscured from view by a dense layer of wilderness in the front garden.

Rosie Gage, from Plymouth City Council’s Empty Homes team, said: “It was probably one of the worst properties in terms of neglect that I have dealt with.

“Having had neighbours complain to us, we served a section 215 untidy land notice on the owners requesting they complete a list of works to improve the appearance.

“But we got no response and tracking down the owners was proving difficult, so in the end we worked with the mortgage company and encouraged them to repossess the property.”