Angus Council will not see a penny of the £30,000-plus clean-up costs in a “Steptoe” house saga.
After years of frustration for neighbours in Broomwell Gardens, Monikie, an end is finally in sight to the drawn-outenforcement affair, which saw the local authority twice take direct action to remove tonnes of material from the former home of convicted fraudster Alexander Ewart.
Bankruptcy officials have now been given the go-ahead by the courts to sell the property but it is almost certain that the sale will not leave sufficient funds to meet creditors’ dues, leaving the authority a five-figure sum out of pocket.
Demolition of the property also remains an option under consideration as moves continue to close the case stretching back nearly a decade.
Last night a leading councillor said it was disappointing the drawn-out legal process would leave the authority having to foot the clean-up bill but stood by the steps taken and said the village case should serve as a “strong marker” to those who wilfully flout planning rules.
Development standards committee councillors were told by a council legal officer that the authority’s law and administration department is now in discussion with an accountant in bankruptcy after proceedings were successfully raised at Arbroath Sheriff Court.
He made it clear the likelihood is the sale value of the property would be insufficient to meet creditors after considerations such as mortgage settlement are taken into account.
“We are currently discussing this and have suggested alternative options, including the possible demolition of the property,” the official added.
The Broomwell Gardens issue had been on the council’s enforcement list for some time before the first direct action in the spring of 2007.
More than 20 skiploads of building and other materials were removed from the house. A 40-tonne crane was even brought in to lift out some of the five boats stored at the property.
The bill for the clean-up came to £16,146, with more than £3,000 of interest accruing since then.
Despite further council enforcement and court interdicts, a second wave of direct action had to be carried out in 2009, adding almost £13,000 to the council’s costs.
Councillor Alex King said he was just glad that neighbours might finally soon be rid of the blight on the quiet street.
“While it’s disappointing that it looks like the council will not be able to recover any of the costs involved in the actions to clean up this site, I still think we did the right thing,” he said.
“I think the way this case has been handled should be taken as a strong message that we will take a hard line if required, right up to the point where we will seek the decision of the courts to recover monies owed to the council.
“This sort of problem, where we have a wilful refusal to comply with what is reasonable behaviour for living in a residential area cannot be tolerated and the council has to lay down a very firm marker that we will take action if people just destroy the environment around them by the practices on their own property,” he said.
The property was originally the home of Alexander and Moira Ewart, who in 2005 each received 18-month jail sentences after being convicted following a lengthy trial of a “mean” fraud involving £50,000 from the estate of an elderly relative.