A move is being made to try and get Dorset Council to make a compulsory purchase of the eyesore Hardy block in Castletown, in order to create 'much needed' housing on the island. The complex has stood as an imposing derelict site since it was vacated by the Royal Navy in the mid-1990s. The site has become an anti-social behaviour hotspot with local children regularly breaking in.
Purchased by Comer Homes in 1999, it received planning permission to turn it into luxury apartments but this was never progressed. A neighbouring block, which became Atlantic House, was converted into flats. At its recent planning and highways meeting, Portland town councillors decided to urge Dorset Council to make a compulsory purchase of the Hardy block.
The Hardy Block on Portland The proposal was put forward by Cllr Sheila Miles who said: "It remains undeveloped and it doesn't look like they are going to do anything with it. The condition deteriorates every day. "We so desperately need good social housing.
We need to do something with the Hardy block. Anything." The proposed compulsory purchase is a legal mechanism by which authorities can acquire land without the consent of the owner.
However, the law and procedures involved are complex, as it is intended as a last-resort measure. Members of Portland Town Council say they have made approaches to the owners of the site, Comer Homes, for some time in an attempt to get something done - but they rarely receive any replies. Cllr Sandy West lives beh.
