Edgbaston MP Preet Kaur Gill worked with police to close Saif Lodge in 2021, which has since become a cannabis farm
Preet Kaur Gill MP has urged the council to make a compulsory purchase order on a troublesome property on Sandon Road after reports that the site has now been turned into a cannabis farm.
In 2021, Preet Kaur Gill worked with the police to close down the North Edgbaston exempt accommodation known as Saif Lodge, as a result of poor conditions and reports of antisocial behaviour. After its closure, the property was boarded up and has since been used for growing cannabis.
Last weekend, police raided the building along with another drug farm in Nechells and found that the electricity supply at the Sandon Road site had been illegally bypassed. Bypassing electricity can lead to a variety of problems, such as house fires.
Preet Kaur Gill has requested that the council make a compulsory purchase order on the property and transform it into private accommodation. She is reiterating her call knowing the impact this will have on local residents who have had to put up with antisocial behaviour linked to the property in the past.
Preet Kaur Gill, MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, said:
“Since we managed to get Saif Lodge closed down in 2021, I have been urging the council to make a compulsory purchase of the property so that the site could be repurposed into housing for families.
“It’s devastating that this neglected property has now been occupied by criminals and neighbours have once again been put at risk.”
“After this raid, the council must now seriously consider repurposing the property for the benefit of residents in North Edgbaston.”
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