QUESTIONS continue to be raised over an empty house in Charlton Road which some people remember being derelict when they walked past as school pupils as far back as the 1990s.

The overgrown 91 Charlton Road property is one of 110 empty homes registered in Test Valley, with the borough council having maintained the abandoned property by boarding up the windows and cutting back vegetation in the past.

Residents however have raised question of how much is it costing the council to look after the semi-detached home, which neighbours say is also affecting surrounding properties.

A neighbour who lives in an Aster home, and wished not to be named, said: “We’ve had rats coming into our loft space from there, and it has got damp coming from the house.

“Aster said there’s not a lot they can do because it is privately owned.

“They come and fix problems when it appears in my house.

“There have been squatters. I’m just used to it now, it is what it is.”

According to property site Zoopla, the house has an estimated value of £291,000.

The home had previously been reported in The Advertiser in 2012 when a resident said he had been in contact with Test Valley Borough Council in 2009 which said it would be investigated.

Now six years on the status of the property appears unchanged.

A Test Valley Borough Council spokesperson said the authority is aware the Charlton Road house has been empty for a “number of years” and that the council is keen to work with the owner to bring the property back into use.

The spokesperson added: “We have a good record of making sure empty properties are brought back into use and we are one of the top 10 councils in the country for this.

“Our policy is to apply a 50 per cent premium to the council tax bill for long-term empty properties.

“As part of its Housing Strategy, Test Valley Borough Council is revising the Empty Homes Strategy and Action Plan with the intention that more empty properties are brought back into use thereby increasing housing choice, lowering homelessness, improving environmental conditions and reducing nuisance to neighbouring properties.”