Pete Asks Why Tesco Houses Are Still Unoccupied

Local resident Pete Milne wrote to the St Albans Review earlier this week with a history of Tesco's houses in London Road. Here's the letter in full. Thanks Pete!

The Tesco-owned houses in London Road have been a disgrace to St Albans for years. Tesco have done a token tidying up but the houses are still boarded up and decaying. Three years ago the district Council started talkng about restoring the houses under new powers but have done nothing, as the following extracts from the Review illustrate:

Sept 16 2005 - The council says it is looking to use an amendment to the Housing Act which comes into force this autumn allowing it to manage [the London Road houses] with a view to providing accommodation for tenants on the housing register.

Mr Pollard said this week: "Last autumn Tesco assured me that they would press on as quickly as possible with their plans to develop London Road, promising not to leave empty and boarded up valuable properties which could be used to house local families desperately in need of accommodation.

Jan 5th 2006 - Mr Pollard said: "I have asked St Albans District Council to use its new powers in the recent Housing Act to take possession of these derelict homes, do them up and then offer them to homeless families. A council spokesman said: "There are two areas we are exploring. Under section 215 of the Town and Country Planning Act we can make efforts to tidy up the appearance of the area..... Councillor Robert Donald has also written to Verulam Properties a subsidiary of Tesco which owns the properties to request that action is taken to improve their appearance."

Jun 19 2006 - COUNCIL leader Robert Donald has pledged to take action over the empty homes and shops in London Road if the stymied supermarket scheme does not progress this year.

Dec 1 2006 - Council leader Robert Donald said the firm had improved the appearance of the area since the beginning of the year.

Oct 15th 2007 - With the company rethinking its plans for a store, district council planning chief Chris Brazier .... is asking council officers to use the 2004 Housing Act to take over the properties temporarily.

Feb 19th 2008 - [Tesco] says it will renovate six of the homes it owns in May or June, and all should be occupied by tenants by the end of this year.

Why have the council let Tesco drag their feet for so long over the derelict shops when they have the power to do something about it? Who believes that Tesco will actually do something in May/June? Their houses in Alma Road remain badly neglected, even though Tesco claim they no longer want to demolish them.

How many times have Tesco promised - and failed - to submit their planning application for the store?

When will the council stop listening to Tesco's empty promises about the houses and get on with what they talked about in 2005 - take over the houses and make them habitable!

PS - The new application still isn't in...