A CALL has been made for the council to take back ownership of Cavendish Square because it’s in such a state.

The authority gave the Park South site away a decade ago to a developer. But one resident says it’s got so bad the council should take it back and fix it up.

Now Rev Linda Fletcher, the vicar of St John’s Church in Parks, has invited council leader David Renard to visit – and he might need his wellies.

Mrs Fletcher said: “David said last week that Cavendish Square was in a very poor state prior to major investment.

“I don’t think he can be aware of the current state of it and so I invite him to visit on a dark, wet night to see the severity of the problems.

“I recommend he wears wellies due to the flooding, a fluorescent jacket to be safe from vehicles driving on to the pedestrian areas due to broken fences and a torch so that he can see where he’s going and not trip on uneven ground.

“So many people have spoken to me about this, and everyone has said there’s someone they worry about having an accident on the broken paving and uneven ground.

“At night, because there are no barriers to the car park and it’s badly lit. People don’t know where the car park stops, so you see cars being driven on to the square all the time.

“I think it’s really just a matter of time before somebody gets hurt.”

A spokesman for Coun Renard said he would accept the invitation and bring along a senior council officer, adding: “He would be delighted to take up Rev Linda Fletcher’s invitation and will happily liaise with her regarding a suitable date and time.

“He will also bring along the council’s head of property assets so that he too can witness first-hand he current state of the square.”

A protest meeting is being organised for Saturday June 22 at 10am.

David Horsell, who owns the Hair Care barbers and hairdressers on the square, said: "If I'm not busy cutting hair then I'll there. We don't have any contact with the private directly, and the paving was relaid five or six times to stop people tripping over it, and then tarred over.

"The council has bought back the Co-op site, I don't know why it didn't buy back the whole of the square."

History of the Square

In a poor state of repair already, Cavendish Square,off Whitbourne Avenue in Park South, was given in 2008 to private developers Leehampton.

The company planned to construct a new covered shopping centre but that fell through, and residents say the paving on the square, which floods often, wasn't properly constructed for outdoor use

Leehampton then sold the floor of the square and the shops on the Post Office side of the square to the Local Shopping real estate investment trust.

In 2016 that company put the square up for sale, saying the annual income from the shops was £158,000.

Extensive investigation by Martin Wicks of the neighbourhood residents' forum found the new owner of the square to be Lytton Road Limited, but he said: "It is shown at Companies House as a 'dormant' company."