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Coastal View & Moor News Issue 19
Stop absentee landlord blight in East Cleveland
faceless property company based in Jersey, far remote from local council and HMRC pressure” “Similarly, in Loftus we have the large former United Reform Church and the Methodist Chapel, both on the main road, and both empty and becoming more and more derelict. Again the owners are hard to trace.”
The former Co-op Store Skinningrove M
iddlesbrough South and East Cleveland Labour MP, Tom Blenkinsop, is calling for action on what he called the ‘blight of absentee landlordism’ affecting East Cleveland communities. Tom said “In the space of just a mile and half we have - in Skinningrove and Loftus - prominent buildings in the middle of both communities slowly rotting with seemingly no interest from their owners - people who are largely anonymous and living far away.’ “In Skinningrove we have the former Co- op Store now roofless, and in my opinion dangerous. We have tried in the past to get the Landlord to take action, but this is a
“I have also had complaints from small businesses based on the Skelton Industrial Estate. This was once owned
by the old English Estates Corporation but has been sold off to a number of different owners. One landlord is - in theory at least - supposed to be responsible for the upkeep of the common areas, pathways and lighting, but getting action to improve these facilities seem next to impossible.” “I believe that there are things that can be done. In particular, I do know the Treasury are now benefiting from new measures to levy full council tax on unoccupied buildings, and has amassed a sizeable collection kitty. Some of that could be used to allow local councils the wherewithal to track down and harry absentee landlords to keep their properties in a reasonable and safe condition.”
Swales hails manufacturing comeback in North East
anufacturing has seen a surge in growth again this quarter, with businesses taking on extra staff to cope with the increase. Lloyds TSB North East Business Index, which measures the performance of manufacturing, recorded a rise in employment in industries within the region for the 22nd consecutive month in the region.
M
Ian Swales commented: “This is excellent news for the area, and I am really pleased to see that there has been an increase of productivity within the manufacturing
sector as well as an increase in employment. “This shows that the Coalition Government is listening to the North East. There has been significant investment into the area through the Regional Growth Fund, and has allowed the region to show what it is capable of when given the chance. Whilst this is encouraging news and I hope that we see this growth continue and industry to flourish, there is still a long way to go to bring employment to Teesside, and I will not rest until more jobs have been brought to this area.”
More private investment and jobs on their way to Teesport Redcar
I
an Swales was pleased to hear the news that a large scale biomass project looks set to become reality at Teesport in Redcar. If it goes ahead it will create over 900 construction jobs for 3 years, 150 highly skilled long term jobs and another 300 indirect jobs in the supply chain.
Ian said: “I am delighted that MGT are finally proceeding with their project. I have spent a lot of time working on behalf of MGT as they could not proceed without the right framework from the Government. It was especially pleasing to meet their advisors and financial backers and hear their enthusiasm for investing in Teesside.’’
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