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A man who lives alone in an almost abandoned estate refused to get up.
Nick Wisniewski, 66, is the last man standing on Stanhope Place in Wishaw, North Lanarkshire.
It is surrounded by empty houses which must all be demolished.
Nick’s local council has tried to buy him out, but he’s determined to stay put despite his lonely surroundings.
He has no neighbors living next door to him in 128 flats after the last of some 200 residents left last December.
At a recent planning committee meeting, councilors gave the green light to approve the start of the mandatory purchase order process for Nick’s apartment.
But he shrugged off the pressure to move out – and instead plans to spend £1,000 to repaint his living room, get new carpets and reupholster his hallway.
Council officials offered Nick £35,000 for his flat plus two years’ rent elsewhere if he moved, but, despite everything, the determined 66-year-old refused.
Nick, a retired bank clerk, said: ‘I’m not looking for a new home.
“I have decided to paint and wallpaper my hall and living room and get a new carpet in the living room which is around £1000.
“I have started removing the wallpaper from my hall and have ordered some wood paneling which I hope to put up next week.
“I’m not worried about spending money doing this stuff because I’m not going anywhere. I heard the council had a mandatory purchase order, but they didn’t contact me about it, which really shocked me.
‘I stay put. Even if the council has a mandatory purchase order, it would still take some time.
‘I’m not worried about it.
“I’m still planning to spend Christmas in the house this year.”
Nick said council chiefs left the area abandoned and overrun with empty properties shuttered after the last residents left.
But he said he was shocked to see recently that the grass had been cut, his loved one cleaned up and new lights installed in streetlights.
“They started cleaning my closure, which I found odd.
“Then they replaced the streetlights and cut some of the tall grass around the parking lot.
“I think it’s kind of crazy if they say they’re going to tear the place down again.
“The whole place was supposed to be demolished last November, it doesn’t make sense to me what’s going on but I’m happy because I’m still here.”
Nick bought his flat in 2017 through the Right to Buy scheme which helped council tenants buy their homes at a reduced price.
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