Roosting pigeons in a derelict house are causing a headache in the street – especially for their elderly neighbour.

The 81-year-old man says he is fed up of the cooing birds which have moved in next door.

The property at 265 Otley Road, Bradford, which was once a shop downstairs and a flat above, has stood empty for about a decade, says Bolton Woods councillor Howard Middleton who has taken up the pensioner’s battle.

Between them and other people living nearby they have been trying to get Bradford Council to put pressure on the property’s landlord.

Coun Middleton said: “It’s an absolute eyesore and has been for years.

“It’s on one of the main routes into Bradford and doesn’t make a good impression about the city. It’s time something was done.

“That house is like something out of Hammer House of Horror.

“The top window is broken and all the pigeons fly in and out. It’s an ideal roost for them but not for their poor neighbour who has to put up with the noise and the smell.”

The building is opposite a bus stop where people waiting see as many as six pigeons fly in at any one time, said Coun Middleton.

“This is a prime example of the kind of derelict properties that should be done up and lived in again to take off the pressure of new building land having to be found in Bradford and to stop us having to build on green-field sites,” he said.

A container has recently arrived outside the property which Coun Middleton is hoping is a good sign the Council has been talking to the landlord.

“Hopefully it means the Council has taken notice of what we’ve been saying and are trying to work with the landlord to get things put right,” he said.

Earlier this week, speaking about an old Victorian villa in Heaton that the Council has just won the right to compulsorily purchse, Councillor the Rev Paul Flowers, Bradford Council’s executive member for culture, planning and housing, said the Council will take all necessary action to stop empty properties from blighting communities.

“Council officers are currently working with a number of owners in order bring empty properties back into use. If they fail to work constructively with the Council, it is now clear that we will consider using compulsory purchase powers,” he said.

No one at Bradford Council was available to comment.

  • Read the full story in Monday's T&A