Burnley landlord's concerns over 'danger' old school wall

Mr Graham Hill, who owns three properties in Lyndhurst Road, wants Burnley Council to take action against the owners of the land which formerly housed the old Todmorden Road School.

This land was sold in June 2019 by Lancashire County Council but. since that date the former boundary wall has collapsed twice in two major incidents which Mr Hill believes could have killed a pedestrian or damaged a parked vehicle if there had been any nearby.

He said: "The last major structural failure was early May 2021 and it is still left as a disgusting eye sore for all the people who live here, including my tenants.

"I have contacted Building Control at Burnley Council several times last year but they are simply not interested. Under the 1984 Building Regulations Act this should be investigated.

"I have bow contacted various people within the council and yet this wall is unresolved. I detect a very strong smell of apathy.

"Lancashire County Council is also of the same apathetic not bothered view, even though highways parallels this wall on three sides.

"This bomb site is a total infringement to the amenities so rightly deserved by the residents here. Burnley Council is a long way from meeting the needs of the rate payers and indeed is in a long queue of people simply doing nothing."

A Burnley Council spokesman said: "We treat any potential threat to public safety extremely seriously. In this case we have visited the privately-owned site eight times in the last 12 months and taken appropriate steps to make the wall safe in default.

"We've also contacted the site's owner on each occasion informing him of the situation and reminding him of his responsibilities and liabilities as owner. The cost of any works carried out in default are recharged in full to the owner. We will continue to respond to any reports of the wall deteriorating to a point where it could potentially pose a danger to the public.

"The land is privately owned and it's the responsibility of the owner to make it safe and keep it tidy etc but we are doing what we can within our powers to ensure public safety."