Dad of seven hits out at council plan to bulldoze family home

Demonique Wilson said the dispute has put him under a "great deal of stress"

A father of seven has said a council that wants to bulldoze his home has made an "unreasonable" offer that would make it "impossible" to move elsewhere.

Demonique Wilson owns the last occupied home on a terrace in Pendleton, which Salford City Council plans to demolish as part of a £250m regeneration scheme.

A council spokesman said the family could only be offered the market value for the property, which was £165,000.

But Mr Wilson said this was not enough to afford a new home of suitable size.

"How can I accommodate a family of seven in such a place?," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"It's virtually impossible. This situation is causing me and my family a great deal of stress."

The Wilsons' property is the last remaining on an otherwise derelict row

The family bought the three-bed former council home on Holcome Close 15 years ago for £70,000 and now have a mortgage of less than £23,000 to pay off.

It is the last in an otherwise derelict row of properties which Salford City Council has applied to demolish as part of a wider scheme to build 485 new homes.

Mr Wilson, a 55-year-old mental health nurse, said his wife and five of his children had not moved out because they cannot find a big enough home in Pendleton for the sum offered by the council.

A solicitor representing the family has argued it would cost between £227,000 and £300,000 for a home with at least three bedrooms in the area.

Planners are waiting for consultation responses before assessing the demolition bid

"I think the city council are being unreasonable," Mr Wilson said.

"They have offered me what it would cost for only a two-bed property."

A council spokesman said the family had also been offered "a relocation equity loan to help bridge any gap to help the family buy a new home".

Negotiations between both sides are continuing and the council is awaiting on the results of a wider consultation before the plans move any further forward.

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