Assurances have been given in the face of mounting residents’ complaints over a derelict former care home in Royton that has been left ‘insufficiently secured’.

Royton North Conservative councillor Dave Arnott has pledged that he will continue to work with the council’s officers to search for an ‘acceptable solution’ over the condition of Park Lane House on Park Lane Royton.

It comes after the councillor received ‘numerous complaints’ over the derelict care home.

Cllr Arnott said: “I have received numerous enquiries and complaints from residents regarding this property, which was formally a care home but has been in an increasingly derelict state for many years.

The Oldham Times:

The building is not suitably secured according to Cllr Arnott. 

“This is a complicated matter, with the most recent listed owners being a development company which went into liquidation in December 2019.

“Two previous planning applications to convert the property into flats were withdrawn or did not continue to completion.

“The most likely outcome will be that the ownership will revert to the Duchy of Lancaster (the Crown).

“The most immediate concern is that the building is not sufficiently or suitably secured.

"I am working with the council's Environmental Health and Planning Enforcement Departments to look for a solution.

"With no legal owner listed, it makes it impossible to serve an enforcement notice.

“In the longer term, I hope that the council's Legal Department will contact the Duchy of Lancaster to explore any options that are open to us.

“I know that the state of the building causes considerable concern to many residents in the area and I will continue to do what I can to help resolve the matter.”

When asked for an update on the building, a spokesperson from Oldham Council’s Environmental Health team said: “The company that owned the property has been dissolved. Officers in Environmental Health are dealing with an individual in an attempt to get the property secured.

“Legal notices have been served the latest one being yesterday with an expiry date of the August, 24.”