Subsidence myth sparks council homes scrutiny in Milton Keynes

Officers at MK Council wrongly wrote the property off as having serious subsidence problems.

Yet a site visit has shown the OAP bungalow seems perfect – and officers have admitted they have no paperwork to back up the subsidence claim.

“I don’t know whether this has happened through laziness, incompetence or errors – but the fact is this lovely little bungalow has been standing empty while we have hundreds of homeless people,” said Tory councillor Peter Geary.

The bungalow is in Bryans Crescent in North Crawley, part of a ward Mr Geary shares with his Tory colleagues, councillors Keith McLean and David Hosking.

“All three of us have been asking the council repeatedly over the past 18 months why this bungalow was empty,” said Mr Geary.

“We’ve had numerous emails and replies back saying there were serious structural problems, subsidence and cracks in the floor.”

Eventually North Crawley parish council members gained access to the property – and discovered it looked absolutely fine.

“There’s no sign of cracks or subsidence at all,” said Mr Geary. “It’s really pristine and looks ready for somebody to move in straight away.”

He asked the council officers to produce reports from two and a half years ago diagnosing subsidence. “They can’t. It appears no reports were made. We don’t even know if they visited. It has all been a major blunder.

“I want to know how many more council homes are empty due to similar errors.”