A retired banker is the last person residing on a Scottish “ghost town” estate.
Nick Wisniewski, 66, currently lives on Stanhope Place in the North Lanarkshire town of Wishaw. The estate is due to be demolished, but Wisniewski refuses to leave.
The former TSB bank worker has no neighbours, with Stanhope Place’s final 200 residents moving out in December 2023. The other 128 flats within the eight blocks are now empty and are set to be knocked down.
However, despite North Lanarkshire Council attempting to buy Wisniewski out, he refuses to relocate. According to the resident, officials have offered him £35,000 and two years’ rent somewhere else if he moves.
Wisniewski has rejected offers as he states the money would not be enough to buy somewhere else. The former bank worker said he is not in a position to buy anywhere and is too old to get a mortgage.
According to the retiree, Stanhope Place used to be home to 200 people but is now abandoned and overgrown. The council reportedly intends to flatten the estate and redevelop the area.
Wisniewski said: “The last person left in December, it’s like a ghost town now. It’s so quiet and strange being the only person living here.
“I’m used to it now, but it can get lonely, there is no one to speak to. There are eight blocks each with 16 flats in them — there used to roughly be 200 people here and you would struggle to get a parking space.
“Now I am the only one left.”
Wisniewski purchased his flat in 2017 under the Right to Buy scheme. This allows council tenants buy their homes at a discounted price.
Council chiefs offered Nick alternative accommodation in a terraced house for two years rent free which he turned down. He said he is worried he doesn’t know where he will end up living — but doesn’t want to leave his home.
Wisniewski, who retired in 2023, continued: “When people left they just dumped old cookers, mattresses, washing machine outside, it was a mess. The council just left the flats lying empty after people moved out.
“There is no security and people could get into the empty flats and lots of windows have been broken. Thankfully I haven’t had any trouble.
“The grass is badly overgrown, it’s ridiculous. I think the council are leaving it unkept to annoy me or in the hope I get fed up and leave.
“They offered me £35,000 for my flat and two years’ rent free somewhere else. But I am not prepared to start paying rent again and £35,000 is not enough to buy somewhere new.”
He added: “You’re talking £80,000 to £100,000 to get somewhere new. I’m worried that I don’t know where I am going to end up living.
“I didn’t work all my life to have my home taken from me when I am too old to get a mortgage on something else. It would be so hard to leave my home.”
Meanwhile, a North Lanarkshire Council spokesperson commented: “We fully understand this is a sensitive issue and are working closely with the resident.
“It would not be appropriate to discuss the specific financial details, but we are working in accordance with our policies to ensure the resident receives a fair deal and to support him so that he finds suitable alternative accommodation.”
According to Wisniewski, he will not leave his flat until he receives a higher offer from the council or until he is forced to due to a compulsory purchase order. He believes he will still be living at Stanhope Place by the end of the year.
Wisniewski said: “I am not going to leave until I get a better offer like £80,000, or if there was a compulsory purchase order.
“Other people in my block were renting so they had to move, I was the only one who owned my flat. My neighbours started moving out about a year ago.
“I spoke to my upstairs neighbour who was the second to last person to leave and he was upset he had to go. They had offered him a house he didn’t want but said he knew he wasn’t going to get anything better so just took it, even though he didn’t want to leave.
“Another neighbour who had lived there for eight years, said he had always paid his rent in advance and didn’t want to leave. But he knew he would have to eventually.
“I don’t know when a compulsory purchase order would come into play, but I think it’s a last resort. I think I will still be here at Christmas time.”
Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond – sign up to the Scotland Now newsletter here.