Stafford homes empty for 20 years 'blighted by arson'

Three homes in a Stafford street have been empty for almost 20 years and become hotspots for arson, a councillor said.

The North Castle Street houses sit on land which had been earmarked for the construction of the Stafford Western Access Route.

They were later sold off by the county council but still remain vacant.

An empty homes officer has since been appointed to bring properties in the borough back into use.

The multi-million pound Stafford Western Access project began in July 2019 and saw the creation of a new road linking the A34 Foregate Street at Madford Retail Park to the A518 Newport Road Castlefields junction.

Tony Pearce told fellow members of Stafford Borough Council it was a "disgrace" the homes had remained empty for so long.

He said at a recent meeting: "These houses have been set on fire over 20 times. The fire brigade has been called out on all of those occasions, the police have been involved and it is an appalling situation.

"People live in a row of houses adjacent to these properties that are being set on fire. And it seems nothing is being done about it.

"Our residents' association is extremely concerned, as are the neighbours within that area."

Councillor Jeremy Pert, cabinet member for communities, responded: "As a council we've always been of the view that you want light touch regulation and it is only when the policies and market isn't working should we step in.

"The fact is we've reduced the number of empty homes in the last four years by a third."

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