Streetlife

Henry I noticed this today and I too assumed the area was cordoned off because bits looked like they were falling off the front. If nothing is done perhaps the council might consider a last resort compulsory purchase order, at least I guess they could then sell it off to a more responsible owner. If the building gets much worse people could also complain to the Ombudsman if the council have not taken the necessary steps to resolve this health and safety nuisance and eyesore.

I wouldn't have thought a compulsory purchase order would be appropriate in this instance .................... and the Local Government Ombudsman wouldn't be interested in this unless the councils' own formal complaints procedure had been exhausted first and that would take several weeks. I'm wondering if the closure is not in preparation for a water company job .............. they seem to be fairly busy at the moment  fixing the leaking sieve that is Sidmouth.

LOL TIAII, there seems to be a lot of 'openreach' gutting of pavement going on, too.  
I had to giggle the other day when I saw a workman on his mobile, smoking and standing just over the opening to what I thought might be gas pipes. (!)  The sign on the other side said 'openreach' so I guess he was working within a safe code of practice after all...

I'm not sure what part of "people could also complain to the Ombudsman if the council have not taken the necessary steps to resolve this health and safety nuisance and eyesore" was not understood? Councils have the power to compulsory purchase buildings that become a health and safety risk to the public and if the owner refuses to repair. Councils however are reluctant to exercise these powers because they don't want expensive property on their books.

The man who owns it can't be that young anymore? does he have kids to leave the building/business to when he dies or do you think he might end up leaving it to a charity or something?
Pretty much any shop would be better than that empty one.

Councils absolutely would not want an expensive property on their books, especially in this economic climate .............. and as I said a compulsory purchase order would not be appropriate in this instance. All perfectly understood Robin F .......... the Local Government Ombudsman are very clear that they would not take up complaints unless the body being complained about had completed their own formal complaints procedure .............. in the case of district councils this may take several weeks.

...going a bit off the thread here... but the "notification" I got from streetlife about the last post by TIAII had an "extra sentence" on the end - which I assume has since been deleted by the streetlife moderators? did anyone else get an email with the extra last sentence?

All's well Henry H ................. after posting I used the edit facility to remove the last sentence myself ................ didn't want to raise the 'sarcasm' stakes.

Ah - thanks for explaining.
Henry

It's certainly good to know Sreetlife is monitored to prevent inapproprite remarks.

It certainly is ....... and most of us are able to exercise a little self control as well.

Glad to hear it ! There is also a little filter button that one can use to hide user comments, very handy.

Footpath still partially closed and no digging yet so it does look as though it is the crumbling building that has prompted the closure. Wheel chairs, mobility scooters and such like have to go onto the road now.

I certainly hope that the council does not 'compulsory purchase' the building just to effect repairs - a very silly thing to do in these times.

If the footpath closure is the result of council action then we can maybe hope that something is going to be done about this building - certainly not appropriate for the Ombudsman at this stage.
 
A terrible eyesore.

Interesting. I feel that Landlords have a responsibility for their buildings and it appears that this particular Landlord has for years fallen way short in this respect for whatever reasons. To leave a crumbling eyesore in a prime part of the high street just doesn't help trade and tourism and may end up being a danger to pedestrians.

 Ideally I would like to see the Landlord face his responsibilities and repair the building. Too often it’s a game between Landlords and planning departments if people get my drift, mean while buildings are deliberately left to go to rack and ruin. If repairs are not affected then I would expect the Council to make whatever emergency repairs are necessary and charge the Landlord , though this will most probably not improve the general eyesore. If the Landlord refuses to pay then of course a charge can be put on the property register to ensure public payment is received whenever the building is sold.  Compulsory purchase is always a last resort if other processes fail but if it came to this I would be happy in the knowledge that this building will find new owners pretty quickly judging from offers already made.

This was a stationers selling everything from pens, maps to walking sticks.  I thought he retired but he was in no hurry to sell it.

I was told this around ten years ago - because it has access to the rear of the property (it was a prime property) to purchase - not lease.  I can not understand why this property has not sold.

A few people in Sidmouth own quite a lot of the shops  - I shall have to give my source a ring - but still in a mess after having visitors for nearly a week.  The premises look very sorry for themselves.

TY Sidmouth Seagull, it's always interesting to hear the history of shops. I thought it might have  been up for 1.25 mil some while ago, as you say it has access at the rear so I guess the rear development potential would not have escaped the attention of local businesses wanting to open a tea shop there.

Hi Robin F

The size of the building and the side access I was sure that a "national" chain would have purchased this, I can't understand why this property has been left to decay for so long.  I believe the owner is still alive.  You can see the access to the rear from the front so you could possibly park?

Before we were in a recession this was empty........which makes you wonder why "Costa Coffee" did not show interest.

The reasons that this property has not sold are deep rooted and of a personal nature as far as the owner is concerned.

The Costa Coffee Company have not been looking at Sidmouth and are not in Sidmouth per se ............. the business at The Old Ship, which is their brand, is a franchisee and he is local.

Isn't McDonald's a franchise too?

Ooooh I'd heard they were coming to Sidmouth in the form of a small outlet .............. any idea when?

No, I did not say they were coming to Sidmouth - only that they are franchise.

I do vaguely remember that when there was all the moaning about Costa's coming to town, someone did mention that McDonalds were interested in The Radway (which is up for sale and has been for a while)  - but am not sure how true that really was/is.

The Radway is soon to be very busy with what looks like a pawn shop, Henry.

The partial closure of the footpath is a rather pathetic attempt at protecting pedestrians from falling debris/masonry - it should have been completely blocked off together with a section of the road as well.

Tell it as it is.....you're right it is deep rooted personal problems. Very sad story. It has been cordoned off for safety reasons and "something" has to be done. Also just to clarify the "Radway" is the old post office. Not pub/cinema etc before things go off track!