Angry Cowplain residents pleased 'useless' council takes action over 'dangerous eyesore' house

Exasperated homeowners in Kings Road, Cowplain, have been openly critical of the state of No.6 in the road, which has seen standards nosedive after it was bought at auction in 2014 by Indian restaurant owner Kaz Miah for £207,000.

Despite Havant Borough Council declaring it was ‘investigating’ the condition of the house, locals have grown tired of not seeing any action - branding the authority ‘useless’.

Those living in the road say the state of the house has tarnished the image of the area and impacted on the quality of their lives.

Complaints have included a cracked bay window that has been boarded up with plywood for years, loose slates on the roof, a damaged front door that was left ajar and an overgrown garden.

Rubbish had been left dumped around the sides including a sofa, cooker and carpet while rats were seen scuttling around the property and nearby in the peaceful road where several pensioners live.

Gladys Pyle, 90, who lived at the house with her husband Jack for nearly 30 years before selling it to Mr Miah, told The News in July: ‘It is dreadful now. There was nothing wrong with the house when we had it.

‘I saw (Mr Miah) in the street and told him he “should be ashamed”.’

But the council has now confirmed action has been taken due to the ‘condition of land adversely affecting the amenity of the area’.

A letter, seen by The News, from the authority’s planning enforcement officer Katie Howard, said: ‘I can confirm that formal action has now been taken by way of the service of a Section 215 Notice (under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990) on the owner of the above property.’

‘If an appeal is not lodged by the recipient (owner) to the magistrates court against the service of the notice, the notice will take effect on October 22 whereby the owner will have two months to comply with the requirements of the notice to improve the condition of the land.’

Long-suffering residents were pleased at the turn of events.

Mike Groom, 66, who has lived in the road for 37 years, said: ‘This is something we’ve wanted for a long time so it’s good to finally see things get going. The house has been badly dilapidated for six years.

‘Stuff has been happening at the house with people working on it. A fence has been ripped out and a brick wall put up. A wall inside the house has also been put up with an RSJ (rolled steel joist).

‘There have been builders and electricians there and workers have had a go at clearing up the garden.

‘Nothing has been done to the dangerous roof where there are still loose tiles, though.’

He added: ‘I can’t imagine (Mr Miah) will now leave the house half done.’

Mr Groom admitted he was frustrated at how long it has taken the council to serve a formal notice. ‘They are useless,’ he said. ‘We are treated as nobodies.

‘The biggest thing everyone can hide behind now in not getting things done is Covid.

‘But things are now moving so we will keep our eyes peeled.’

Another person involved in the battle, who did not want to be named, said: ‘This is a happy result, although it has taken quite a lot of work to get here - it has been like trying to get blood from a stone with the council.

‘My sense is that now the council have filed a formal notice they have to follow through and enforce it.’

Mr Miah previously admitted to The News the house was in a ‘bad state’ and was ‘rotting’ but said he had good intentions when he purchased the house before ‘realising there was a lot more wrong with it’.

He said: ‘I don’t think £50,000 will even cover all the work that has to be done. It is difficult to commit to that and when you commit you have to finish.

‘But work is being done and is at the first stage.’

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