By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter
A Cotswold woman says she is having sleepless nights because of rats getting into her attic from a derelict “eyesore” next door.
The Old Funeral Directors in Well Lane, Stow-on-the-Wold, and Shepherd’s Cottage next door, which are both owned by funeral director Tim Slade, have been vacant for more than a decade according to local councillors.
There are fears the site has since been broken into, littered with empty cans of booze and may have been used for under-age drinking and drug dealing.
And the latest concern is that the properties are infested with rats which are getting into the roof space of the house next door
Nicola Charlesworth, who moved into the home next door recently, says the vermin are getting into the attic via the roof space of the derelict cottage.
The problem is so bad she says she has had pest control put eight trays of poison in her roof space and they still keep coming.
“The rats have pulled insolation out, have dangerously chewed through my electrical wiring causing damage and the trip to go down,” she said.
“There is nothing stored in my attic to attract them as most of my roof space is the bathroom but they are running through what I do have and getting between the floor of the bathroom and the ceiling of my two bedrooms keeping my daughter and I awake.”
She raised the issue at last week’s Cotswold District Council meeting and said she had not received a response from officers.
And also asked what they would do to stop the rats getting into her newly purchased home.
“Not only have I had the expense of getting an electrician out and pest control twice, I still have live rats in the property, the stench of decaying carcasses and infestation of bluebottle flies.
“My 15-year-old daughter has moved out and is staying with her father.
“The lack of sleep and health hazards are not tolerable.”
She said there has been no engagement with Mr Slade.
“I want to know what actions have been or will be taken as access to the property is the only option to prevent the rats from coming into mine,” she said.
Housing and planning cabinet member Juliet Lawton (LD, South Cerney) said she “absolutely” sympathises with her because she had a rat situation of her own last summer.
“Only in the garden, thank goodness,” she said. “But that was purely because somebody had stopped feeding the birds and gone on holiday.
“I really apologise if you have not had any officer response.”
She said after receiving a question from Stow councillor Dilys Neill about the issue she got in touch with council officers and had an email back very quickly.
Cllr Layton read it out at the September 24 meeting and told the council that officers have visited the boarded-up property.
They have also contacted Mr Slade who replied saying he was unaware of a rat infestation.
She read out his response which was: “I’m surprised there is an infestation at the property because no food is available to them.
“We had a report of an infestation a year ago and on investigation there were no signs.
“I will get a pest control firm to visit the site and advise me on the best course forward.”
Cllr Layton said that was the most recent update she had and would continue to pursue the issue.
“It is unacceptable,” she said.
Ms Charlesworth told the meeting Mr Slade hasn’t been very forthcoming over the last 15 years.
And she claimed he has been contacted multiple times but the house is very derelict.
“There are children hanging around there at night,” she said.
“You can smell drugs wafting across my courtyard where I’ve had rats going across my courtyard.
“The previous owner put a brand new roof on to help prevent rats coming in.
“But where part of his roof goes into my property, we can’t get access to.”
Councillor Dilys Neill (LD, Stow) also asked about the issue at the same meeting and said it was “scandalous” that there were 120 empty homes in her ward.
She said the two properties have been empty for more than ten years and are in a state of disrepair.
“They have both been broken into and littered empty alcohol cans suggest that they may have been used for under-age drinking and possibly drug dealing,” she said.
“Windows have been broken with glass on the ground outside.
“Both properties have been repeatedly boarded up and then broken into.
“They are an eyesore in Stow and have attracted complaints from many residents.
“The latest concern is that they are infested with rats which are getting into the roof space of the house to which the properties are attached.
“The owner of the adjacent house has employed a pest control officer who is unable to gain access to the empty properties and so the rats are still present, causing a nuisance and health hazard.
“CDC knows who owns the property but officers seem unable to take action.
“What can the council do about this longstanding and worsening problem?”
“Every time I call the empty properties team, they say, we’ll get in touch with the owner.
“He doesn’t seem to be prepared to do anything. The properties are an eyesore in our lovely town.
“Is there really nothing else we can do or enforcement action we can take against the owner of the property to make the properties better and more attractive?”
Cllr Layton said they are aware of the issue but do not have a responsibility to deal with private property.
It is something she will have to discuss with the legal team, she said.
“We’ve got to engage with the owner of that property,” she said.
“I will do my best to follow it up and see what I can do.”
Mr Slade told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that as far as he’s aware there has been no infestation of rats.
“I have checked on previous occasions and no evidence has been found,” he said.
“I would be quite happy to meet Ms Charlesworth to investigate the problem further.
“The property is in a state of disrepair.
“It was used as a weekend cottage up to the beginning of Covid, since then it has been vandalised on numerous occasions and is now uninhabitable.
“I have looked at repairing the cottage. A quote of just under £20,000 to repair the windows was above my budget at the time.
“However, I am looking to reinstate the building. This is scheduled to begin this spring.”