THE countdown to the end of the Moathouse Estate began this week after several homeowners were sent Compulsory Purchase Orders.

The CPOs were sent to six properties on the Crewe estate last Friday by the borough council.

The council is seeking to buy these properties back from the people who purchased them to allow the area to be sold to a private developer.

A copy of the Compulsory Purchase Order goes to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions and if any objections are made before July 30 a public inquiry can be held.

Chartered surveyor, Peter Brydon, acting on behalf of a number of the residents, said he had been instructed to submit objections to the Secretary of State.

"We are in negotiations with the council on behalf of our clients and all we are seeking is for our clients to be in a position to purchase properties with similar accommodation and facilities to the ones that they currently own without our clients being financially disadvantaged," he said.

"We have always been prepared to talk to the council or to the private developers who are going to purchase the estate and redevelop it to find solutions acceptable to our clients.

"What we cannot accept is a position where our clients lose their homes and end up worse off because of the council's plans for the area."

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