An eyesore house is to be bought by Norwich City Council after the secretary of state gave the go-ahead for the authority to snap up the home.

The city council has been granted a compulsory purchase order which will allow it to buy the home at 92, Connaught Road, off Dereham Road, in Norwich.

The property has been abandoned for many years and, barring any last-minute objections to the order, the council intends to sell the property at auction so a new owner can renovate it and bring it back into use.

Under the terms of the compulsory purchase order, the owner of the home will be paid the value of the property once the council has sold it.

Paul Swanborough, Norwich City Council's interim strategic housing manager, said: 'We have known about this home being empty for at least four years and have been looking at various way to get it back into use.

'We knew where the owner was, but then she disappeared. We got an interim Empty Dwellings Management Order which gave us the power to delve a little more into the issues.

'But the business case for the council to bring the home back into use just didn't stack up, so we looked at a compulsory purchase order and we are making the owner sell it to us.

'The owner will get the market value of the property after we sell it at auction, We anticipate the buyer will renovate it and bring it back into use.

'This is the first compulsory purchase order we have used in this way, but there are a few other sites in the city where we are hoping to take this approach. It is another useful power to have in our toolkit.'

Are you battling to get an eyesore sorted out where you live? Call Evening News reporter Dan Grimmer on 01603 772375 or email dan.grimmer@archant.co.uk