Council to take action over eyesore
Reporter: Janice Barker
Date published: 03 September 2009
A SEMI-DERELICT former care home which has been attacked by arsonists and used by squatters is on a hit list for council action.
Lake View opened in 1970 as a local authority home for young adults with physical disabilities, but closed in 1993 and was sold at auction three years later.
It stands on the corner of Kings Road and Park Road, facing Oldham’s award-winning Alexandra Park, and is next to the Park View social services’ day nursery.
A Shaw resident, who regularly passes the empty building, said: “I reported it to Oldham Council 18 months ago, when I saw children climbing through the windows.
“There is a load of rubbish dumped there and it is in a disgusting state. I have also seen vans and people coming and going at odd times as though people are squatting in it. It also detracts from the park.”
The closure of Lake View was controversial as, against their wishes, residents were moved to Royle Close and Boston House in Hathershaw.
The house has since decayed and has been boarded up several times. Fencing has been pulled down and French windows are smashed and wide open.
It has changed hands several times and was last owned by a woman in Stockport, who did not return calls from the Chronicle.
Councillor Mark Alcock, cabinet member for environment, has revealed Lake View and other privately-owned eyesores are on a list for council action.
He said: “The priority has to be the safety of the public. Lake View has been sold several times but owners’ plans have fallen apart.
“Obviously because of the recession people are struggling, and I can’t see someone wanting to take on a project like this.
“On this and other sites our intention is to make the owners make them safe or, in some circumstances, we will do it.
“We are looking across the borough at properties in private ownership, with the aim of bringing them back into use.”
