A man has been told he has weeks to tidy up his dilapidated Victorian home or it will be taken over by the council.
The once-grand period property in Swindon has fallen into such an appalling state that owner Gulamabbas Akbarali Moledina has been threatened with legal action.
Covered with graffiti and boarded up windows with weeds sprouting in the overgrown garden, the building has been blasted as an ‘eyesore’ by furious neighbours.
Mr Moledina has been told Swindon Borough Council that unless he carries out much-needed repairs this month their workers will move into the property and renovate it themselves.
He will then be slapped with a hefty bill and possible fine.
One local told MailOnline: ‘It is an absolute mess. I doubt anyone has touched the garden for 20 years.
‘It is such a shame because it was a beautiful property in its heyday.’
A once-grand period property (pictured) in Swindon is now so dilapidated that the council is on the verge of using taxpayers’ money to repair it – leaving locals fuming
Under the ownership of Gulamabbas Akbarali Moledina, Oxford House (rear seen) in Victoria Road has become boarded up, plagued by crumbling brickwork and plaster and overgrown
The overgrown garden is strewn with broken bottles, cans and other rubbish
Mimi Thomas, who runs a beauty clinic three doors along the street, summed up locals’ feelings. ‘It really is not very nice to look at these days,’ she said.
‘You can tell it must have been a beautiful property once, but unfortunately it has been allowed to fall into such a state of disrepair that it is now an eyesore. It’s very sad.
‘This is a nice street and the house really ought to be a reflection of that. It upsets me when I walk past it every day. It’s just not right to allow a building like that to get into such a state.’
Its owner, Mr Moledina, who lives half a mile away in the town, claims he is planning to begin the repair work demanded by the local authority within the end-of-August deadline.
But he also said he was currently ‘very sick’ and needed time to get better.
Speaking at his home, chartered accountant Mr Moledina told us: ‘I am very sick at the moment but as soon as I can, I will start the repair work, certainly by the end of August.’
The property owner also revealed he has submitted plans to demolish Oxford House, as well as two neighbouring properties he has bought – one of which also bears a graffitid facade – and build a large block of flats in their place.
‘Unfortunately, the scheme has been rejected by the planners,’ he said.
For now, his long-suffering Victoria Road neighbours will have to put up with the crumbling, vandalised wreck of a building.
Mr Moledina bought Oxford House for £200,000 in 2006, with the ground floor windows seen boarded up as long ago as 2009.
In 2013, the owner erected two dormer loft extensions at the front of the property, but these windows are already boarded up with the rest of the property.
The local council have threatened Mr Moledina with legal action if he fails to begin renovation work by the end of the month
The owner bought the property in 2006 for £200,000. It is seen in 2009 already boarded up, but has since had two dormer loft extensions added by Mr Moledina
Neighbour Adam Bartoszewski, 65, moved into his property at the rear of Oxford house in 1987 and remembers it looking much smarter. ‘It needs to be returned to its former glory as soon as possible or it is just going to collapse and that would be a very sad loss for the town,’ he said
Retired civil servant Adam Bartoszewski, 65, moved into his property at the rear of Oxford house in 1987 and remembers it looking much smarter.
‘It wasn’t pristine, even back then, but it was in a much better state and at least the back garden, which we look over, was neat and tidy. Now it is an absolute mess. I doubt anyone has touched the garden for 20 years.
‘It is such a shame because it was a beautiful property in its heyday. It needs to be returned to its former glory as soon as possible or it is just going to collapse and that would be a very sad loss for the town.
‘This was a very smart road when Oxford House was built, full of grand houses like this one. Swindon was a thriving railway town and these kind of properties were lived in by the managers and foremen.
‘I hope it is brought back to its former glory soon.’
Probation worker James Parminter, who is in his mid 40s, said ‘it is a waste of space’.
‘It could look quite lovely, but it has been left to rot and that is very sad.
A large family could be living in this house, but instead it’s standing empty. No one could live in it as it is now, but I guess it would cost a lot of money to make it habitable.
‘It’s a great location too, just a five-minute walk into town and it’s right on the edge of the Old Town, which is the nicest part of Swindon.
‘I hope the owner complies with the council request and starts smartening the place up very soon. It could certainly do with it.’
Mr Moledina also revealed he has submitted plans to demolish Oxford House, as well as two neighbouring properties he has bought (both pictured), and replace them with a block of flats, but the plans were rejected
Pictured: Another of Mr Moledina’s Victoria Road properties is covered in graffiti
Businessman Richard Lay, 70, was born 300 metres from Oxford House and now lives a few doors down
Businessman Richard Lay, 70, was born 300 metres from Oxford House and remembers the property in its heyday.
‘It was a stunning property – always in good repair and extremely impressive,’ he said. ‘Swindon was thriving back then and this was a prosperous, bustling street.’
Mr Lay, who now lives a few doors along the road from Oxford House, added: ‘I believe the current owner would like to demolish the property, and several neighbouring properties that he has bought since, and turn them all into a large residential block of flats, but the planners have objected to his plans.
‘As a result, we are left with this stalemate and the property is falling into disrepair. It has been vandalised and it is a wreck.
‘I do have some sympathy with the owner because he has put forward what seems to me to be a reasonable proposal to redevelop the properties, including Oxford house, that he owns and turn the plot into a block of flats, which Swindon certainly needs.
‘I guess he is just trying to find a financially viable way forward.’
It was reported recently in the local paper, the Swindon Advertiser, that a member of the council’s empty homes officer had written an email which read: ‘We are still receiving positive response from the owner and he is still requesting to have till end of August to sort it out himself.
‘Although the s215 notice is now active for us to carry out the works in default, I hope you can understand that It is in our best interest that we give him the time he has requested.’
Mr Moledina has been served a Section 215 order, which requires a private landlord to clean up a property or potentially face a fine
It is understood the empty homes team is in the process of getting quotes for repairs, with some quotes already received. These quotes have been shared with the owner, who ‘is still advising he will have this done in August’
A Section 215 orders a private landlord owner to clean up a property or potentially face a fine. If they fail, the council can clean up the house themselves and charge the owner for the cost.
It is understood the empty homes team is in the process of getting quotes for repairs, with some quotes already received. These quotes have been shared with the owner, who ‘is still advising he will have this done in August’.
The correspondence ends: ‘He is aware that if he does not do this, we will still follow through with the works in default.’
The house’s windows and doors are boarded up, with graffiti and shrubs hiding the facade of the once-grand house.
