I want South Tyneside Council to compulsory purchase a derelict South Shields house
A councillor is calling on South Tyneside Council to purchase a derelict house.
Councillor Eileen Leask, of the Horsley Hill and Westoe Crown ward, is calling on the local authority to purchase a derelict home that has remained empty for more than decade.
The privately owned property, on Widdrington Avenue, in South Shields, has been subjected to vandalism and the garden overgrown with weeds and rubbish.
South Tyneside Council placed a Section 215 notice on the property in August 2025, which advised the owner to remedy matters within six weeks - including removing foliage and clearing the garden.
Now the local authority has stepped in under its Section 215 powers and has recently cleared the gardens and removed the growing foliage.
The Council has confirmed that the Council Taxpayer of the property will be charged for the work that was carried out.
After the work, Cllr Leask now believes that South Tyneside Council should now consider compulsory purchasing the property or examine other legal ways to acquiring the property to bring it back into use as a family home.
Cllr Leask commented: “I want to thank the Council for using its powers to clear this garden and to secure the building.
“However, this has been an ongoing issue for residents for well over a decade, and I am concerned that unless the Council step in, all we will see is further vandalism, dumping and the weeds growing once again.
“Given the need for housing, it would surely be beneficial for the Council to acquire the property and bring it into use for a decent family, paying rent and keeping the area tidy.”
Cllr Leask has also advised that she has asked South Tyneside Council to replace the rear and front divisional fencing between the derelict property and the neighbouring property.
She added: “A poor man has had to live next to this jungle for years, the divisional fencing has completely gone, the least we can do is to erect new fencing whilst the Council resolves the long-term future of this property.”
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