Two dilapidated houses which have been standing empty and blighting their local neighbourhoods for more than 10 years have been seized by Plymouth City Council using compulsory purchase orders.

The houses in Grenville Road, St Judes, and Grosvenor Cottages, off Mutley Plain, are now being renovated and will be used to provide much needed homes for families on the city's housing register.

Having taken legal action to acquire the properties, the Council's Empty Homes Team secured an agreement with Spectrum Housing Association to buy, renovate and manage the properties.

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Contractors are currently on site carrying out extensive repairs in order to bring the two houses up to the Government's Decent Homes standard.

One of the main aims of the Council's current three-year Empty Homes Strategy is to increase enforcement action against owners of long-term empty property.

Councillor Ted Fry, Cabinet member for Strategic Housing, said: "Empty properties attract anti social behaviour such as fly-tipping and vandalism and are a magnet for criminals and vermin. These problems cause distress to neighbours, devaluing and often damaging their properties.

"With so many families in need of housing in the city we simply can't tolerate the waste of properties lying empty for years on end. We're keen to do all we can help owners bring their property back into use but when those efforts fail we’ll use enforcement action such as compulsory purchase and enforced sale."

(CD/JM)