33 Mornington Terrace – unoccupied since at least 2013

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WORKS to restore a “ghost house” that has been left empty for more than a decade have ground to a halt a year after it was sold-off by the council to a property investment company for £1.75million.

Neighbours of 33 Mornington Terrace had hoped that the sale would bring the curtain down on a long-running saga of neglect.

The Grade II-listed property had been left uninhabitable – even to property guardians who were moved out because of the decay – completely gutted and became a magnet for drug crime, fly-tipping and rat infestations.

Almost a year after the sale to Sar Investment London Ltd went through, according to the Land Registry, scaffolding that was set up outside has been taken down and a team of builders has been sent home.

Two planning applications for minor alterations have been submitted for the three-storey building – which the council said had space for eight bedrooms – have been withdrawn, according to the council’s planning site.

One near neighbour told me: “They had plenty of viewings, some were families, some were property developers, it had a lot of interest due to the location. Did Camden Council sell to this company at the highest bid without providing details for their intention to use it? Why was it sold without conditions?”

I have over the past fortnight tried to contact the sole director of the company, which is registered at an address in Vincent Square, Belgravia.

The New Journal reported in January 2022 the building had been empty since at least 2013 with invasive plants growing in brickwork, broken windows, a damaged roof and rotting woodwork.

The Town Hall told me that the property was sold under the Family Friendly programme, launched in 2022.

The scheme aims to reduce overcrowding by selling off smaller flats lost under Right to Buy to raise money to buy larger homes with space for families.

There was a six-week exclusivity period for local residents and businesses to express an interest, the council said, and the £1.75m has “enabled the purchase of three properties in the same ward” – two two-beds, and one three-bed.

In May, we ran a story about a two-bed flat Right to Buy property on the Mortimer estate in Kilburn that had been bought back by the council but left empty for almost a year. It was squatted and turned into a “drugs lab” in the process.

The council’s newly acquired flat is still lying empty today.

With such high demand for social and also private landlord housing in Camden, why is it taking so long to get these empty homes fit for the people who need them?