Douglas Council Leader David Christian has criticised the council for allowing a former cottage in the borough cemetery to fall into such a poor state.

Earlier this year, the council rejected a motion to demolish the cottage and replace it with a storage unit for equipment used in the cemetery.

However, the condition of the building has since been found to in such a bad state that demolition is the only solution.

Mr Christian said: ’This building has been neglected by this council so that’s why it is in the state it’s in.’

He added that works on the building ’have been budgeted for’ in previous years and said it was a result of ’instructions not being followed’. And he suggested that if work had been carried out, it would have been suitable for occupation.

Chairman of the regeneration committee, which is responsible for the cemetery, Councillor Stephen Pitts said he ’certainly wouldn’t want to live in it’ on account of it having no electricity, no water supply and being in a cemetery.

Councillors were also told ’one enquiry had been received regarding the sale of the cottage’ following open days run by an estate agent.

However, Mr Pitts said that the issue of space to store equipment including a tractor and chemicals used in the cemetery still needed resolving.

He said: ’There is no other space in the cemetery to store anything. There is no easy answer and the only other possible location is Noble’s Park.’

Mr Pitts warned this would end up in work time being lost by workers going across to the park to collect equipment and he raised concerns about whether some of the vehicles used in the park and cemetery would be road legal. Mr Christian told Mr Pitts ’Noble’s Park should be fine to share the space for equipment’. Mr Pitts agreed that it can be looked at as a possible solution.