Many of you will be regular viewers of BBC’s The One Show as a spot of post-work, light entertainment. On 11 October 2016 The One Show ran a story about the Victoria Mills residential development in Grimsby. Built in 1889 and Grade II listed, parts of the Victoria Mill were converted into residential flats about 15 years ago. The middle part of the building remained undeveloped and when the landlord failed to carry out repairs it was left in a dilapidated and dangerous state.

Earlier this year all of the building’s residents had to be evacuated when dangerous movement was detected in the building. This resulted in months of upheaval and inconvenience for residents.  

The council had to intervene under powers set out in section 77 and 78 of the Building Act 1984 which gives local authorities powers to intervene where buildings in its area are considered dangerous. The landlord and owner of the building, CPG Investments Ltd, was ordered to carry out repair work but failed to do so. Therefore, to protect residents the council took the necessary actions under section 78 to avert the danger. The reported costs to the council are circa £950,000.  

The One Show Report identified that the council may now seek to have the ownership of the building transferred into its name as the costs which are now owed to it by the landlord are comparable to the value of the building.  

The One Show episode can be viewed online on BBC iPlayer.