A DAD who lives on Britain’s ‘loneliest street’ is refusing to move – despite the council’s attempts to pay him to leave.
Nick Wisniewski, 66, has no neighbours living near him in Stanhope Place, Wishaw, Scotland.
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North Lanarkshire Council told him they want to redevelop the area – offering Nick £35,000 to flatten his block.
The area lies overgrown and abandoned, with many empty properties boarded up.
But Nick, who lives with his 35-year-old son, is refusing to budge – insisting the council’s offer would be nowhere near enough to help him buy somewhere else.
The homeowner told the Daily Record: “I’m in the only occupied house in the whole street and it’s been that way since the end of December.
“The height of the grass is ridiculous – at the other side of Gowkthrapple the blocks are all empty but they are still cutting it over there.
“There’s no security and people could get into the empty flats.
“There’s lots of windows been broken. Eventually [the council] started boarding the bottom two levels up. Thankfully I’ve never had any bother yet.”
Nick bought his flat more than six years ago under the “Right to Buy” scheme, before it ended in Scotland.
The initiative aimed to help council tenants buy their homes at a discounted price.
And Nick, who retired last year after working for more than 20 years with TSB bank, is not in a position to buy anywhere else.
He explained: “I bought my flat as I didn’t want to be paying rent for the rest of my life.
“The council have offered me £35,000 but to buy another would cost me anything between £80,000 and £100,000 now.”
North Lanarkshire Council did offer him alternative rented accommodation but he turned it down.
He said he was offered a place for two years rent-free, but because he is retired and hasn’t paid a mortgage for years, he doesn’t understand why he should be made to start paying again.
Nick said: “The council said they can’t offer me a penny more. They are talking about a Compulsory Purchase Order but that’s a last resort.
“If they make me a decent offer then perhaps we could use that and my son could get us a mortgage. I’m too old for a mortgage now.”
A spokesperson for North Lanarkshire Council said: “We fully understand this is a sensitive issue and are working closely with the resident.
“It would not be appropriate to discuss the specific financial details, but we are working in accordance with our policies to ensure the resident receives a fair deal and to support him so that he finds suitable alternative accommodation.”
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Source: The Sun
