Give up the fight

GHOST town . . . Peter Hibberd outside the “tinned-up” houses in Derker

Battle ‘is turning Derker into a war-torn wasteland’

A GROUP of Derker residents are appealing to an action group to give up its battle against demolition and save them from living in an area which they say looks war-torn.

Residents living close to the Housing Market Renewal (HMR) area say that rows of houses boarded with metal plates have turned areas of Derker into a wasteland and are now pleading with the Derker Action Group to give up its fight and let the council press on with its regeneration plans.

Hundreds of property owners have already sold their homes to the council, but the 40-strong Derker Action group has refused to give up its appeal against the recent High Court ruling in favour of demolition.

While Housing Market Renewal has created winners and losers, there are many whose homes will not be touched at all and it is those residents who are growing weary of the ongoing court battles and want the regeneration in place now to halt the rapid decline they say they are witnessing all around them.

Resident Peter Hibberd (58), of Harcourt Street, said: “While I have sympathy for the people who have lived here for a long time, those of us who own our homes in Derker and are not under compulsory purchase are the real victims of this crusade.

“We are surrounded by an area like war-torn Beirut and rats are seen on the streets regularly. This unnecessary delay to the regeneration sees the value of my property decreasing at an alarming rate. I also am a victim.”

Councillor Jackie Stanton, who lives in Derker, said: “Because some of the residents don’t wish to sell, the builders can’t press on with the demolition of the other homes, so Derker looks like a tin-town at the moment.

“While it is absolutely right that the action group was given a lawyer and allowed to fight its case, some other residents in the area are beginning to wonder how much longer this is going to go on for.”

But Jackie Proctor, a member of the action group, said: “We all want regeneration, but at what price?

“We all want to move on, but we can’t move on with what is being offered.”