FURTHER action has been taken by council bosses to shore up two long-standing problem buildings in Radcliffe.

Fresh concerns had emerged over the security of the adjacent 99 Blackburn Street and 6 School Street earlier this year.

The Blackburn Street property, once home to the Radcliffe offices of Adamson Law, have previously been used as a squat.

This prompted Bury Council officials to seek a possession order against a group of unlawful intruders in December 2019.

And now new legal action has been brought about by the authority to guard against any future incursions.

Using powers under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, the council, through environmental health officer Iain Lingard, has acted as the buildings remain unoccupied and “are not effectively secured against unauthorised entry”.

The legislation allows for a council to carry out security works and then bill the landlord at a later date. The owners of each property are understood to be in southern England.

A Bury Council spokesman confirmed that works had been carried out to secure access points at the rear of the premises, which have now been bricked up.

An illegal squat operated for several weeks out of the 99 Blackburn Street address in late 2019 before the possession order was granted.

Five intruders were found to be living there illegally when neighbourhood police officers attended the site.

The law firm’s lease for the site ended in 2017 and it has had no further involvement with the premises.

One of the last tenants for the 6 School Street site was the Big Green Energy Company but the firm was dissolved in January 2018. Before that the building, which has been vandalised and graffitied, was home to a surveyors.