Council accused over 'ruin'

The last tenants at the four-bed terrace on Chesterfield Road, Heeley, moved out in November last year.

While housing management company Sheffield Homes decided what to do with the house, it was broken into and trashed.

Now a Liberal Democrat councillor says she fears it will be sold at auction "for a fraction of its original value".

Coun Denise Reaney, who represents the area as part of her Gleadless Valley ward, said: "This example will be a real horror story for local families on the waiting list for a decent family council home.

"Due to a catalogue of errors by Sheffield Homes and the council, a perfectly good house has been allowed to go to ruin. Labour talk about the lack of affordable housing, yet they are the ones allowing this sort of thing to go on."

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She added: "I cannot understand why the property was allowed to be unoccupied for so long, given the real demand for these family homes.

"But, to make things worse, the property wasn't properly secured which led to the house becoming vandalised and causing it to fall into disrepair.

"It's clear our local authorities must take action to ensure this sort of incompetence is not being replicated elsewhere in the city."

The case was highlighted by Coun Reaney only weeks after Dore and Totley Conservative councillor Anne Smith revealed a highly desirable council property in her ward, at Totley Brook Glen, was left empty for nine months.

Sheffield Homes admitted the Chesterfield Road property has been empty since November 2006.

A spokeswoman said new tenants were not found immediately because the house needed "a lot of work to bring it up to standard" - including a new roof, kitchen, bathroom, damp works, heating and windows.

She added: "We are currently exploring our options for the future of the property, taking into account the cost of the renovations already needed and the criminal damage.

"We will be discussing the potential options for the property with the council, which will make a final decision."