Compulsory purchase orders may need to be issues to leaseholders who are refusing to sell up, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Shropshire House (left) and Cheshire House (right) could both be demolished

Enfield Council may need to issue compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) for some flats in Edmonton to enable two “unsafe” blocks to be decommissioned.

While all but two council tenants have left Cheshire House and Shropshire House, several leasehold properties remain occupied.

Both residential blocks were constructed using the now discredited large panel system (LPS) technique and were declared “structurally unsound” in early 2023.

To date, the council has rehoused 162 council tenants in the blocks, leaving only two tenancies remaining.

The council has also acquired 35 of the 42 privately-owned leasehold properties. Seven are yet to be acquired, with four in Cheshire House all being occupied, and two out of three in Shropshire House being occupied.

Neil Wightman, the council’s director of housing services, told a housing and regeneration scrutiny panel last night (Tuesday 21st) that there were “nine households we haven’t reached an agreement with yet”.

It was originally estimated the remaining residents would be moved out by March.

Neil said: “Some are in negotiations, some are subject to legal issues, but we are in that position. One or two will complete reasonably soon, but it is a relatively small number. At that point we can move to looking at whether we use compulsory purchase orders.”

The measure allows public authorities to acquire land without the consent of the owner, but the order must be first be signed off by the secretary of state.

Neil said: “The [Enfield] cabinet in September approved the use of CPOs so we will continue to negotiate and support and find the best alternative options for those households, but we will be be getting [properties] with a CPO.

“We are seeking to finalise documents to submit to the secretary of state, probably at the end of November. It’s a significant piece of work to make sure it’s correct but that’s the next stage.

“We will be continuing to work very closely with those existing nine residents.”

This article has been corrected after a previous version mistakenly identified Neil Wightman as Brett Leahy.

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.