Falmouth building could soon get facelift at last

12:07pm Friday 25th July 2008

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The end is in sight for Falmouth’s own “Battle of Waterloo” following a legal breakthrough in a complex case involving three derelict houses that have been unoccupied for some 20 years.

The terraced properties at numbers 9, 11 and 13 Waterloo Road have long since deteriorated into a state of serious disrepair.

They have become an eyesore in an otherwise popular residential area and the cause of much irritation for neighbours, over both the appearance and the occasional presence of squatters and vermin. Now Falmouth solicitors Hine Downing have confirmed that action can be anticipated at long last, with the appointment of estate agents Heather & Lay to handle the sale of the houses and their introduction to the market hopefully next month.

Solicitor William Richards explained: “Just a year ago this month, we managed to obtain a package of title deeds, mainly incomplete. “From then until now, we have been reconstructing the titles, which are now in the name of the executor, and as a result the properties can be put on the market for sale.

“Whilst not literally a ‘battle,’ it can fairly be described as one of the most complex cases in this area of law ever to have been handled by Hine Downing. With our new conveyancer, Sarah Peters, we have worked intensively over the past year, on behalf of the family that owns the properties.”

Mr Richards added: “We were in fact first contacted on this matter, by a member of the family, back in 2000.

“We have made many enquiries since then but, for reasons which cannot be divulged without breaking client confidentiality, no significant progress was possible until we managed to obtain the package of title deeds a year ago.”

Mr Richards anticipated that the placing of the properties on the market could be an attractive opportunity for a property developer, adding: “It’s a rare opportunity to redevelop three houses in a popular and convenient part of the town.”