A ROGUE homeowner has been handed a £1,550 bill after failing to clear up a fire-damaged house which has been left rotting as an “eye-sore”.

Southend Council claims The owner of 51 Chalkwell Avenue, which was gutted by a fire in 2015, has repeatedly ignored instruction to tidy the site.

Andrew Solomon, 51, of Western Road, Leigh - who is one of the owners - was given the bill for failing to comply with an Untidy Site Notice.

The property has since been demolished.

Kevin Robinson, deputy councillor for environment and planning, said: “This property was an eye-sore for far too long and I personally am delighted to finally see it gone.

“It is a very prominent location and we tried continuously to work with the resident to avoid the situation we are now in where he now has to foot a £1,550 bill.

“However, when there is reluctance to work cohesively with us, we must take the appropriate steps to rectify the issues.

“This has been a drawn-out process but we are pleased to move on from this and look forward to whatever comes next for this plot of land.”

Following the blaze at the house, concerns were raised by neighbours about the state of the building.

This included frustration over the visual impact on the street scene and concern about the potential dangers of the house due to the building being easily accessible through a lack of proper hoardings.

In November 2016, council officers launched their investigation and in August 2017, Solomon was served with the notice, outlining that the improvements to the building should be completed appropriately within six months of the notice coming into effect in September.

Officers visited the site once again in April 2018 to note that the site remained unchanged.

On Monday, Solomon was subsequently fined £500, faced costs of £1,000 and had to pay a victim surcharge of £50.