AN enraged resident is poised to start court proceedings regarding demolition approval for four homes in Wotton.

Plans to demolish four homes in Wotton, two in Bradley Street and two in Gloucester Street, were approved by SDC in June.

It was put forward that a key factor was that the amount of money required to repair the properties was too high – in excess of £37,500 per property.

This is beyond the limit that SDC can spend on repairs - but councillors say this was not the deciding factor.

All four homes in the two streets were the first council houses in Wotton and Gloucestershire and possibly the first outside of London, with building finishing in 1921.

They would be demolished to build six to eight homes.

Malcolm Sargent, acting on behalf of two of the Bradley Street tenants, feels that councillors have “had the wool pulled over their eyes”.

He has appointed an architect who states that the plot could fit six three-bed homes or eight to nine two-bed homes while retaining the Bradley Street properties - these still have tenants, but the Gloucester Street homes have been empty for more than a year.

SDC claims that surveys taken out on each home showed that too much money was required to repair them, but Mr Sargent claims that this is false and not all four houses would need to be demolished.

“I believe that the councillors on the housing committee made this decision in good faith and had no reason to believe that the £37,500 cost per property is false,” said Mr Sargent, who lives in Alderley.

“One of the tenants has lived there almost all of her life, and lives there with her brother who was actually born there.

“I’ll be putting together an information pack to present to all of the members at Tuesday’s housing committee and if they do not repeal the decision then it is down the road to court.

“They’ll have to drag the tenants out before they leave, and I don’t blame them!”

An SDC spokesman said: “This project was discussed at length during June’s housing committee meeting and Mr Sargent is welcome to view the recording of this on our website.

“The decision wasn’t made lightly, and was taken after weighing up the costs of maintaining and refurbishing the properties against the benefits of providing much needed, modern homes to address the housing shortage in Wotton.

“We will continue to work closely with tenants to give support, and ensure they find homes that better suit their needs.”

At a Wotton Town Council meeting on Monday councillors expressed their surprise at Mr Sargent’s claims that an evaluation survey had not been completed on all four homes – which swayed their decision to support demolition.

They felt that they may wish to re-evaluate their previous approval.

Mr Sargent explained that the approved demolition order (part one) ensures that the tenants cannot purchase the house, part two would see a date set for which the occupants must vacate the premises.

If the tenants do not leave before this date SDC could go to court to obtain a possession order – this is where Mr Sargent says he would begin court proceedings against the district council.

Stroud district councillor Catherine Braun (Green), one of the three ward members for Wotton gave reiterated the need for affordable homes in the area, the tenants would be cared for during the transition – and would be able to return to one of the new homes.

“There’s an acute shortage of affordable housing in Wotton, and I’d like to see this site redeveloped to provide six to eight new homes, built to high energy efficiency standards, with adequate parking on the site,” she said.

“However, in a redevelopment such as this, the priority must be for the wellbeing of the current council tenants, particularly since they have lived in their properties for so many years.

“Every consideration must be shown to them throughout the process, to support them in finding suitable alternative accommodation in the local area, with a full support package for relocation, as well of course as the financial compensation that is provided in these circumstances.”

Wotton Town Council chairman Paul Smith warned Cllr Braun to heed the lessons of the past.

"I had a private word with you outside of this meeting about the history of sites like this and I would urge you to pay attention to that," he said.

Stroud district councillor for Wotton George Butcher (Lib Dem) has asked SDC's head of asset mangement Alison Fisk to call the issue back into committee to be debated.