Sale of Vale Alleys is a Missed Opportunity - Nicholson

2.04.00pm GMT Fri 7th Mar 2008

Local Lib Dem campaigner Chris Nicholson has slammed the Labour-led Lambeth Council for failing to bid for the alleyways in Streatham Vale when they were sold at auction at the end of last month.

The alleyways have been a constant concern for local home-owners after the neglect of the previous property developer owner left them covered in rubbish and a health hazard.

In a survey conducted last year by Streatham South Liberal Democrats, local residents called for the alleys to be gated-off in order to prevent illegal rubbish dumping and to improve security around the area.

But such plans are now in jeopardy after Lambeth Council failed to act for local Vale residents and purchase the alleys for their reserve price of just £15,000 at auction.

Instead the alleyways were sold to mystery buyers whose intentions over what to do with their new purchase are unknown. At the auction a number of unsuccessful bidders were identified however, including a mobile phone company looking for sites to place an aerial.

Speaking about the controversy, Chris Nicholson said:

"The Council has really dropped the ball over this one."

"This auction was a golden opportunity to help local residents by buying the land in order to set up the alley gates that so many people are crying out for."

"Instead our Labour Council has let local people down again through their inaction."

Local resident and Lib Dem campaigner Ahmad Ali has long called for action over the alleys, he said:

"The Labour Council has squandered their chance to bring the Vale's alleys under local control. It would have cost just £15,000 - a fraction of what top Labour councillors pay themselves each year out of local Council taxpayers' funds. It's about time they put residents first."

The decision to sell the alleys has been marred in controversy since local residents were informed of the auction through notices stuck onto lampposts. There were even doubts as to whether the auctioneers had the right to sell certain portions of the land that had been advertised.

Lib Dem Councillor Julian Heather attended the auction to try and find out more about the buyer.

"Unfortunately we just don't know who it is that bought the land, or what they plan to do with the alleys."

"This whole auction process has been unsatisfactory from start to finish; it's not been about the homeowners interests at all."

"I'm now pushing the Council to look at the possibility of making a compulsory purchase order for the alleys. We need to avoid another neglectful owner or, worse still, someone who wants to exploit their new purchase against the interests of Vale residents."

Notes

(1) Roads which are affected are: Woodmansterne Road, Glenister Park Road, Grayscroft Road, Helmsdale Road, Bridgewood Road, Sherwood Avenue, Drakewood Road, Nettlewood Road, Bodiam Road, Hawkhurst Road, Glencairn Road & Runnymede Crescent. The roadways themselves were also included in the auction lot as well as the alleyways, together with land adjoining the River Graveney which backs onto residents' homes.