Store giant fails to clear derelict site

The council served the Community Protection Notice on March 23 demanding the retailer carried out work at Sherwood Lodge within 28 days - a deadline which it has missed by five weeks.

Under the terms of the notice, the company would face prosecution by the council’s legal department and a potential fine of up to £20,000 if it failed to complete the work.

The notice called for nine stipulations to be met and a spokesman for the council said that, while some areas of compliance had been met - including on-site security and boarding-up of windows - numerous requirements still remained outstanding.

He also revealed that electrics inside the building had not been isolated but this process had been delayed by access issues.

The supermarket giant had also failed to remove loose glass from some of the building’s widows and, although other parts of the building’s appearance had been improved, others had not. The council has requested a maintenance schedule to be completed by Morrisons.

Since the company bought the site back in 2014, it has fallen into disrepair and has been the subject of repeated acts of vandalism and fires.

Morrisons originally bought it from the council with a view to develop a 20,000sq ft store but the plans fell through and the site was put up for sale in June 2015.