THE OWNER of a property which has been left to rot away unoccupied for 26 years has claimed that Macclesfield Borough Council has no right to seize the house.

Stephen Connolly's Beech Lane property once reached such a poor condition that a tree was found growing through the roof.

The council has warned that it may issue a Compulsory Purchase Order and the enforced sale procedure "if the owners will not engage the council in providing a solution to bringing the empty home back into use".

But Mr Connolly, living on Hazel Avenue in Macclesfield, has been quoted up to £40,000 to fully restore the house and said that he simply cannot afford to take on the project.

"Now it has all been brought to a head, something may have to be done, but so far I have received nothing in writing from the council whatsoever," he said.

"If the council was to offer me a grant and a loan, then I'd do it. But I always thought an Englishman's home was his castle. That house is my pension and I always thought that when I haven't got a mortgage, I'd have a go at it - but now I apparently can't do that.

"Macclesfield Borough Council could be a bit more favourable to me - they've got millions in the bank. I think they are being a bit heavy handed and I don't agree with what they are doing in principle.

"You can't just take someone's house from them just because they are not using it. It would be like me taking your car away because you don't use it at weekends."

When he bought the house in March 1983, it had already begun to deteriorate after standing empty for five years.

He said: "I was going to move in, but the house is massive and it was just a bridge too far. You think you can do these things, but when it comes to it, you can't. At the end of the day, it was costing more than I make and hopefully, later on in life, I'll be able to afford it."

Neighbour Susan Newton described the house as an "absolute eyesore" and was worried it could affect the value of her property.

She said: "It's very depressing because it was all boarded up and now all the boards are falling down and kids are getting into the house. Nobody seems to have any control over it. We'd like to sell our house in a couple of years, but we know we can't because that one is such a dump."

In early 2002, an estimated value of the house as it stands was given as £30,000 - but similar properties in the town in good condition are fetching an average of £120,000 at the moment.

The council's Environmental Health Officer, Tony Wright, confirmed that bringing the property back into use is a priority and warned that if Mr Connolly failed to provide a suitable plan, the council may take the house out of his hands.

Mr Wright, who is also the manager of the Urban Renewal Division, said: "Somebody did start work on this several years ago, and then just abandoned it.

"All the plaster has been taken off and there was a tree growing through the roof. At the moment I am writing to the owners about this, but I'm getting little response.

"Beech Lane is a priority for us and we have to decide soon whether to enforce the sale or go down the Compulsory Purchase Order route, which is a very lengthy process."

As part of the authority's Empty Homes Strategy, homeowners who allow a property to fall into disrepair or lay empty for more than five years may be forced to sell the house.