Comments on: 6 Auckland Road - Cambridge

By: Czapska

Czapska — Tue, 26 May 2009 13:03:46 +0000

Thank you for your comments, even though they caused me great sorrow.

I am sorry that, for reasons I cannot understand, this is causing “many” of you problems. You can’t imagine the nightmare all of this is for us (and absolutely none of it being procrastination-related either).

At the time of the CPO notice, and since then, we have made a point of speaking to all the neighbours on the street about the situation and, with one exception, most are still deeply shocked that the council even has these powers and would use them in this case. The exception was a group who were only interested in buying the property asap. (As an aside, the property cannot be sold while there is a CPO on it.)

In any case, I respond here simply to explain that there is no point wasting your time writing to the council or anyone else to speed things up. The matter is out of the council’s hands now and in the central government machinery. As it is a strict legal process with fixed deadlines, we all have to follow the drawn-out steps and timetable, and it must run its course. There is nothing anyone – you, us, the council – can do at the moment as it has to, by law, follow their timetable. In fact, on average I believe most CPO actions last about 2 years, although I’d be surprised if this did. At this stage, I’m afraid, the only thing the council is entitled to do is withdraw their application; everything else is out of their, our, and your hands.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Sat, 23 May 2009 15:57:26 +0000

You live nearby the property. Stop procrastinating, either do it up properly over the next six weeks or sell it immediately. There has been no progress with this house over the last few years. Our new property has been built at the bottom of the road in the meantime and a new property has been built on the top of the street. Many of us are frankly tired of this and will write collectively to “Strategic Housing and Health” asking they recommend that the Council expedites a Compulsory Purchase Order. This is a kind and polite request to you: Please demonstrate that you are doing something with the house and stop wasting your time fighting this.

By: Czapska

Czapska — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:50:28 +0000

Here is my letter to the Cambridge News regarding this and the hypocrisy of CCC in this matter.

Sheer hypocrisy
IN response to Dr Tribe’s question (Letters, May 12), Simons House is owned by Cambridge City Council. No surprises there, as the council in fact owns the majority (43 per cent) of the 371 empty homes in the city (2008 figures). If those are added to the empty homes owned by the local housing associations, a staggering 80 per cent of empty homes in the city are owned, in effect, by those in charge of dealing with empty homes. For further detail on these figures, please see:www.emptyhomes.com

In 2007, the council chose Cambridge Housing Association and Flagship Housing to “redevelop” Simons House, but as yet, we have seen no progress.

And still the council have the effrontery to serve us with a compulsory purchase order on our sole property and sole asset, on the grounds that it is empty and they are desperate for housing!

When we are financially strapped, desperate to fix up the house and move in, but struggling to get the money to do so. Instead, we have to waste the little money we have and a lot of time and effort defending ourselves against their actions, while they use their £400,000 “compulsory purchase budget” to harass us. Yet they are the ones who own the majority of empty homes in the city? Wow, what hypocrisy.

From: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_news_letters/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=418258

Czapska, Cambridge