'I am very unsafe': Elderly widow urges city hall to demolish derelict house next door

“I don’t even like looking out my windows because I’m scared of what I’m going to see on the other side,” admitted Joanne Given.

Given has lived in her east London home for 30 years, but the widow’s sense of security has been shattered by illegal trespassing and drug use at a vacant house next door.

She said that several months ago, a trespasser tampered with the gas pipes inside 19 Redan St., causing a dangerous leak.

“My neighbour from down the road came and said, ‘Joanne you need to call the gas company. I can smell gas [around the vacant house],’” she told CTV News.

Given admitted to having many sleepless nights since discovering a person on her porch, “I am very unsafe, that’s what the police said. It’s time to end this because I’m on my own.”

A solution may be just a wrecking ball away.

The house is on a list of abandoned and deteriorating buildings that city staff recommend for demolition.

19 Redan St.

Vacant house at 19 Redan St. In east London, Ont., seen on Nov. 9, 2023. (Daryl Newcombe/CTV News London)

188 Wharncliffe Rd. S.

Vacant house at 188 Wharncliffe Rd. S., seen on Nov. 9, 2023. (Daryl Newcombe/CTV News London)

1803 Bradley Ave.

Vacant house at 1803 Bradley Ave. seen on Nov. 9, 2023. (Daryl Newcombe/CTV News London)

712 Adelaide St. N.

Vacant house at 712 Adelaide St. N. seen on Nov. 9, 2023. (Daryl Newcombe/CTV News London)

IN PHOTOS: City staff say these houses should be demolished

The demolition process is described in the staff report as, “A near-to-last effort to motivate property owners to address ongoing violations of the Property Standards By-law.”

All costs related to municipal inspections and potential demolitions are invoiced to the property owner.

Earlier this year, the threat of a municipally led demolition resolved a neighbourhood nuisance on Grey Street in SoHo.

According to a planning consultant for the Toronto-based developer, when they were informed of the situation, they expedited the removal of three boarded up homes.

Now a cleared lot is secured with construction fencing until the redevelopment proposal is approved by city hall.

Across from the abandoned house at 188 Wharncliffe Rd. S., neighbour Jeb Patterson thinks it’s a shame that once livable homes are left to rot in the midst of a housing crisis.

“It could be rented if they put a little bit [of money] into their property— but they’re just letting it decay,” Patterson said.

Councillors on the Community and Protective Services Committee will consider the fate of the four houses on the demolition list at a meeting on Nov. 14.