MP calls for tougher rules for absent landlords

Absent landlords of run-down buildings in the centre of Stoke-on-Trent should be "named and shamed", a local MP has said.

Gareth Snell, the Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central said Hanley had become known for its empty buildings and problems with homelessness.

However, he said the city was not beyond repair and called on the community to back regeneration efforts.

"All those landlords with empty buildings, who have neglected them and let them go to rack and ruin, we need to start saying to them we will find a way of getting those buildings from you," he said.

"It's not fair that people are turning a profit from derelict buildings in our city."

Snell added that the businesses that had stayed in Hanley should be celebrated, whether bigger chains or smaller independent retailers.

"We've got to stop talking down the city centre because if you're a business looking for your next location, you're going to go to Nottingham or Derby who celebrate what they have got, rather than us who keep talking about how grim it is," he added.

"If we can recapture some of that hope and pride, I think we can start to move away from some of the the decline."

Snell also called for people to get behind the new ventures and big events that the council hope to provide in the future

"It's the little things that are going to bring back our towns and city centres," he said.

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