THE landlords of a historic Darlington property have criticised the state left by a food bank after its eviction.
NQA was evicted from its premises in Northgate last Sunday due to the non-payment of rent.
At the weekend, the large building was still full of NQA’s possessions, while the garden was strewn with rubbish and dead rats.
After changing the locks last week, landlords Randa Properties accused NQA of refusing to clear its belongings from the property, which is a listed building.
Owner Rami Aldilaimi showed the Northern Echo around the building.
He said: “The building is full of rats. It’s like a tip.”
NQA secretary Anne-Louise Bailey said the organisation had not been given enough time to clear the building and was also being asked to get rid of stuff which had been in it before they took on the lease.
She said: “We’ve only been given access for one or two hours at a time. That’s why the building is the way it is.”
The food bank was based on the ground floor of the property, while Darlington Borough Council’s Youth Employment Initiative is in the basement.
The upper two floors are being used as storage.
When asked about rats in the property, she added: “We were taking steps to clear the rats. We had a guy come in to oversee it and had poison to get rid of the rates. They were mainly in the basement and shed.
"There were no rats ever in the food bank.”
Most of the food which was being stored in the food bank has now been removed to another location.
The food bank was given a five star food hygiene rating - the highest possible - following an inspection in September.
NQA took on the lease of the building at the start of last year.
Vacant at the time, it had been badly damaged by fire and the group had plans to bring it back into use, opening the food bank and community café.
There were also plans to start a garden in the rear of the property, who could be used to help educate people about gardening and could produce food for the café and for food bank users.
The once-grand 19th century building in Darlington’s Northgate was formerly owned by the Pease family.
Read more: Community bringing fire-hit building in Darlington town centre back into use
Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You can also follow our dedicated Darlington Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.
For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.
Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel