CITY council staff have put up metal fencing alongside drystone walling patched with breeze blocks at the site of a long-running dispute.

The Cotswold walling is outside a derelict Headington house which the owner wants to demolish.

Martin Young has had a protracted battle with the council after repeated attempts to gain planning permission for the demolition of his property at 29 Old High Street.

It is understood the council placed the metal fencing alongside the wall after it breeze blocks that then came loose.

Headington and Quarry county councillor Roz Smith said: “I understand Mr Young was given notice by the council to repair a lovely old wall outside the house and he put breeze blocks on top of it.

“I believe Mr Young was then given notice that the wall should be made safe but he did not do so and the city council then put a barrier alongside it to ensure pedestrians would be safe.

“The city council acted quite swiftly, within days of being notified by residents about the problem. Everyone in Headington would like this matter to be resolved – the building has been an eyesore for many years.”

Mrs Smith said the problem with the wall emerged during the past fortnight.

City council spokesman Tom Jennings said: “We were contacted by a member of the public about the state of the wall.

“Our building control officers visited the site, determined the wall was a dangerous structure, and then wrote to the owner to ask that they make it safe.

“The owner did not respond, so our officers installed the fencing to make the wall safe for members of the public.”

Mr Young has not yet responded to a request for a comment.