Whitton residents are calling for action on a "neglected", disused and “rat infested” property which has been left abandoned.

The derelict house at 310 Nelson Road, described as a “magnet for fly-tipping”, has been left in disrepair for years, according to neighbours.

SEP Properties was given planning permission two years ago to build a block of four flats with a ground floor retail unit.

Work began in 2017 but stopped shortly afterwards after an application to put in a chicken shop was rejected.

The company declined to comment to the Richmond & Twickenham Times on the issue.

Graeme Wood, who owns Abracadabra, a company across the road, said he has been left very frustrated by the situation.

He said: “When the shop closed down and was boarded up in 2010, squatters broke in and began using it.

“Kids would go in at all hours of the day and night.

“We contact the estate agents but they said they couldn’t do anything about it.

“Then one day a builder came and took off the roof so people wouldn’t stay in the garage.

“People still use it as a dumping ground.

“We have had vans pull up in the middle of the night and dump complete kitchens.

“It’s just an eye sore.

“We try to keep the area tidy but mess attracts mess- it’s utterly disgusting.

“It’s the only entrance into an estate of 400 houses.

“There’s a huge demand for housing and it’s just sitting there going to waste.”

Heathfield councillor John Coombs raised the issue at Richmond Council's full council meeting in January and demanded something be done.

He proposed the council add additional staffing to the environment directorate to specifically tackle the issue of disused properties across the borough.

Twickenham MP Sir Vince Cable has written to SEP demanding it takes urgent action and has also written to the council saying it should use “all powers at its disposal” to sort out the problem.

He said: “It is scandalous that property can be allowed to sit empty for years on end, causing a major public nuisance, when there is a serious homelessness problem.”

The council served the owners with an untidy land notice in 2016, but nothing has been done to fix the problem.

A Richmond Council spokesman said: “Providing developers commence development on a specific site within the time stipulated by their planning permission, developers are legally entitled to commence and pause work without being in breach of planning controls.

“There is no upper limit for complete the works.

“The council is aware of the issues regarding rubbish on the site and has previously served a S215 ‘untidy land’ notice on the site requiring the site to be tidied which was complied with.

“The notice was retained as a charge on the land in the event that the site became untidy again.

“We have been notified by residents that this is indeed the case.

“As a result, officers have written to the site owner requiring that the site be tidied.

“If this requirement is not adhered to, the council will consider initiating prosecution proceedings for non-compliance with the S215 notice.”

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