RESIDENTS have expressed their anger after disused houses in their street had the windows and doors boarded up by a housing development company.

Numbers 36 and 38 Coombelands in Royston have been turned into an “eye-sore,” by Fairview Homes, in preparation for a potential estate to be built behind them.

Sara Willis-Wright, whose house looks out directly opposite the problematic dwellings, said: “This eye-sore is so disrespectful to our community. These boarded up houses are not in-keeping with our otherwise wonderful estate.

“They have made this look like a deprived area when full permission for the homes has not even been given yet.

“They have degraded our estate with these ugly additions.”

Miss Willis-Wright also questioned the reasoning for the boarding, which is on the front and the back of the houses, and can be seen from the A505.

“I just don’t know why Fairview have done this,” she said. “I can only presume it’s because they do not want squatters, but there’s more chance of them now its clear they are empty.

“It really drags the area down, and they haven’t given us residents a thought.”

Fairview homes, which was unavailable for comment, has reportedly owned the homes for “20 or 30 years,” after it announced initial plans to build a housing estate at the bottom of Coombelands.

The have been rented out at various stages during that time, but stood empty for around 10 years during the 80s.

According to Coombelands resident Frank Willett, there were no problems with the houses during that time.

“When they were stood empty for ten years, nobody bothered them. Even though there was nobody in them we were fine with it.

“I can’t understand why they have done this now. I would rather they knocked them down than they looked like this.”

Miss Willis-Wright is grateful that nobody in the cul-de-sac is planning on selling their home, as she claims it would be “impossible.”

She said: “There is no way anyone could sell a house around here now. Who in their right mind would want to live opposite that?”

Fairview Homes’ plans are to build a through road were the houses stand, with an estate on the grass-land behind them. However, The Crow understands that full planning permission has not yet been given.