Derelict buildings a ‘blight’ and Faughan Valley blaze could have led to ‘loss of life’

Transcript

00:00 I rise to speak on an issue which unfortunately has rose once again in my constituency last night

00:04 where arsonists attacked the former Fotham Valley High School site for another time. Unfortunately,

00:15 50 fire crew, several water pumping appliances, a command unit was required to deal with the

00:22 situation. I raise the issue, obviously it's serious in terms of somebody could have lost

00:27 their life, but there's a wider issue Mr Speaker in terms of dealing with derelict properties within

00:35 our communities, particularly those, and I use the example as I say of the old Fotham Valley site

00:40 where last night residents unfortunately were told to keep their windows shut and stay on their

00:46 properties whilst fire crews dealt with the situation. Had there been an incident anywhere

00:51 else in the city, the fire crews which are already stretched would have struggled to deal with it.

00:56 But in terms of derelict properties, it's something which blight all of our communities.

01:00 There's a serious frustration, particularly within residents who live near to these properties,

01:06 about the speed in which these issues can be dealt with. The Fotham Valley site has been

01:13 sitting vacant now for well over a decade, yet we're seeing no progress. And what I am going

01:20 to be doing over the next number of weeks is encouraging all of those public bodies to show

01:24 leadership in dealing with derelict properties, but also encouraging investors and private

01:30 investors to come forward with ideas to improve our communities as well. Thank you Mr Speaker.