Stop the Rot of Former Art College

The former Art College on Eleanor Street was gifted to the people of Grimsby then sold from under our feet to an offshore investment company who have left the building to rot.
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Anston House has been derelict for over two decades and has been dubbed 'the ugliest building in Sussex'. The site adjacent has been empty for even longer, and has been used by fly-tippers as a dumping-ground, in addition to being the scene of a great deal of anti-social behaviour which has caused nuisance and upset to nearby neighbours.
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There has been significant and commendable effort from officers in negotiating and exploring every option to try to make the landowner restore this site to public/commercial use without success. We now feel all avenues have been exhausted.
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o we are calling on the council to exercise its powers under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to undertake a Compulsory Purchase Order on Anston House and the adjacent site, in order to return the site to use, and to create a landmark building at this important gateway to our city.
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We are aware that the potential cost to the tax payer of funding such a purchase means that a CPO is very much the route of last resort, but we feel that regrettably this is the point at which we find ourselves.
"Local residents feel very strongly that this site should be used to provide affordable homes, affordable workspace, and community facilities, including much-needed meeting space. Such a development would bring huge benefit to the local community, who have had to live alongside this derelict site and all the attendant anti-social behaviour it has attracted over the years.
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"We urge the council to act now in securing a CPO to end the sorry saga of this benighted site."
This e-petition has been extended and will be received at the Council meeting on 27 January 2011, along with a paper petition before being referred to the Environment Cabinet Member Meeting on 10 March 2011.
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Successive Council under both Labour and Conservative's have neglected our heritage.
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