THIS WEEK IN 1972: Southsea rate protest over empty houses

Mrs Long, of Havelock Road, Southsea believed that Portsmouth residents should not have been forced to pay higher rates while there were valuable properties standing empty in the street.

By The Newsroom

Published 31st Jan 2018, 06:00 BST

She objected to paying a rate increase while houses stood vacant around the corner in Outram Road.

‘There is no sign of any attempt to make them habitable for the many homeless, who would be thankful for a home.’

She pointed out that the houses – numbers 19 to 25 – were bought by the corporation the previous year for relatively high prices, and had since yielded no rates to swell the fund.

A spokesperson for the corporation explained that the four houses in Outram Road would eventually be demolished – in about 1980 – to make way for part of a new North-South road.