I’ve been offered £35k and free rent to leave UK’s ‘loneliest street’ – but I won’t move
A MAN who lives in a ‘ghost town’ block of 128 flats in Lanarkshire has revealed that he refuses to leave, even though the council offered him £35k to move out.
Nick Wisniewski’s, 66, home at Stanhope Place in Wishaw is scheduled for demolition, but he says he will not leave as he cannot buy a new property.
The retired bank worker has no neighbours in his block of 128 flats, which once housed 200 residents.
He says the council have offered him £35,000 and two years’ rent to move to a new property, but he does not want to give up property ownership.
He bought his flat in 2017 under the Right To Buy scheme, which allowed council tenants to buy their homes at a discount.
He claims that the money offered to him to move out is not enough to buy elsewhere and that he is too old to get a mortgage.
Commenting on his situation, Nick said: ” The last person left in December, it’s like a ghost town now.
“It’s so quiet and strange being the only person living here.
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“I’m used to it now, but it can get lonely, there is no one to speak to.
“There are eight blocks each with 16 flats in them – there used to roughly be 200 people here and you would struggle to get a parking space.
“Now I am the only one left.”
Nick, who worked for TSB before retiring last year, added: “When people left they just dumped old cookers, mattresses, washing machine outside, it was a mess.
“The council just left the flats lying empty after people moved out.
“There is no security and people could get into the empty flats and lots of windows have been broken.
“Thankfully I haven’t had any trouble.
“The grass is badly overgrown, it’s ridiculous.
“I think the council are leaving it unkept to annoy me or in the hope I get fed up and leave.
“They offered me £35,000 for my flat and two years’ rent free somewhere else.
“But I am not prepared to start paying rent again and £35,000 is not enough to buy somewhere new.
“You’re talking £80,000 to £100,000 to get somewhere new.
“I’m worried that I don’t know where I am going to end up living.
“I didn’t work all my life to have my home taken from me when I am too old to get a mortgage on something else.
“It would be so hard to leave my home.”
North Lanarkshire Council want to demolish Stanhope Place and redevelop it, but plans are being held up by Nick’s refusal to leave.
This follows the case of Charlie Wright, who has had similar problems as he refused to make way for developers in Birkenhead, Wirral.
Mr Wright’s move paid off as the value of his home increased more than 40 times over.
As Nick owns his flat after his Right To Buy purchase, the council cannot force him to move without a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO).
According to property management firm Bidwells, councils can only obtain a CPO for private property if they can demonstrate that it is “of public interest” for them to do so.
If a CPO is used, then councils must compensate homeowners based on the market value of the property as well as temporary losses and professional costs.
Overall, the compensation must leave you in the same financial position that you were in before the CPO.
Indeed, one mum won £17,000 after her local authority stopped contributing to her rent, which she couldn’t afford on her own.
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A spokesperson for North Lanarkshire Council said: “We fully understand this is a sensitive issue and are working closely with the resident.
“It would not be appropriate to discuss the specific financial details, but we are working in accordance with our policies to ensure the resident receives a fair deal and to support him so that he finds suitable alternative accommodation.”
Similar situations have resulted in people being forced to move significant distances.
For example, a mum from Waltham Forrest was forced to move her family 185 miles to Stoke-on-Trent after being kicked out by her landlord.
