Sunderland Road was an area of Victorian terraces. Gateshead Council deemed that it had been "abandoned" even though most of the homes were occupied. After 5 years of mass demolition the site has now been re-developed with family homes. It is now really abandoned with weeds growing around unsold houses.
However we are pleased to report some occupancy. A squatter has turned up in one of the houses. The squatter is a security guard apparently employed to look after the new empty properties that have replaced homes that people used to live in. The madness of Gateshead's demolition strategy can be seen up front. Demolition of houses people want to live in and the building of new family homes that few can afford to buy.
Since June 2008 the Government has given local authorities the power to buy empty homes for rent. In effect the re-invention of the council house. Perhaps Gateshead should consider buying up the empty homes on Sunderland Road to re-house the people that used to live in the houses they demolished on the same site!
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*Google definition of squatter
"someone who occupies an unoccupied or abandoned land that the individual does not own"
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