A FORMER Huncoat councillor has made a scathing attack on Hyndburn Council and accused it of neglecting the Within Grove estate.

Colin Feeley, 53, of Bolton Avenue, Huncoat, said that home owners' properties had been drastically devalued because many of the council-owned properties were derelict and he cited a house on Within Grove which was up for sale for offers of £5,000.

Mr Feeley and other owner occupiers are forming an action group to address the "disgraceful" situation and will be holding their first meeting in January.

He said there were around 60 empty council properties on the estate and he wanted the council to tidy them up and move in tenants.

But Huncoat councillors hit back at the accusations and said that progress was being made on the estate.

Mr Feeley, who has four grown-up children, said: "The place is like a ghost town.

"I have lived here for 30 years and it was beautiful place to live when the children were young.

"Now it is just a disgrace and an eyesore.

"The council should keep the properties in a fit state and get them filled up. "All the properties have been devalued. An estate agent came to have a look at one of my friend's houses and said she had a jewel in a coal field and that she would never be able to sell it for what it is worth.

"The whole place has just gone to ruin."

Margorie Leigh, who owns a grocery shop in Within Grove, said: "There are so many empty houses around here that it is affecting my business. I couldn't sell it either because no-one would buy it for what it is worth."

But Huncoat councillors defended the council and said it was doing everything possible to make things better.

Conservative councillor Douglas Deakin said: "Hyndburn Council is trying its best to improve the area.

"We are trying to take the boards off the windows and improve the look of the houses.

"We are constrained by the last administration's budget but we are trying to do something about it and seeing whether we can get CCTV down there.

"And 13 years of neglect can't be turned round in seven to eight months."

Coun David Parkins said: "The council is not neglecting Within Grove or the owner occupiers.

"Around £3million has been spent on that estate over the last 10 years but we can not make people come into council property.

"We are addressing these problems and it is getting better."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.