THE owner of a house deemed “at risk” says he was too busy caring for his dying mother to keep it in good repair.

Martin Young bought 29 Old High Street in 1978 and lived in it for decades. before abandoning it around five years ago.

This week the property in Headington’s Conservation area got listed on charity Save’s annual Buildings at Risk register – which names decaying and crumbling properties across the UK.

Now Mr Young, 66, is fighting a court battle with Oxford City Council over the state of the early 19th century property – cited by Save as being finely proportioned.

Mr Young, a retired firearms dealer, property developer and a former chairman of Headington Hill Residents’ Association, said: “I didn’t know anything about it being on the register. It woke me up with a jolt, I can tell you.

“I bought the house in 1978 when I was still young and was hoping to get married and have a family of my own.

“That never happened, but I did a lot of work to it, let it out to friends and furnished it. My furniture is still in there.”

He said the house fell into disrepair when his mother Evelyn fell ill. Some windows are boarded up and the garden is overgrown.

He said: “I used to sleep there and then do my work at mum’s house, but over the years she became more dependent on me. Then she had her stroke five years ago and the health service said she needed 24-hour care, so I lived here and left the house as it was.”

Mrs Young passed away last year aged 98.

Mr Young, who lives in Headington Hill, last hit the headlines in the Oxford Mail in April when he revealed fresh plans to turn a piece of land neighbouring homes in Long Wall, Littlemore, into an official rubbish dump.

And last October he lost a bid for a judicial review over the planning permission for Brookes’ £132m campus re-development.

With the delapidated Headington house, Mr Young acknowledges he has been “ducking the issue” but said: “I have been so distracted looking after mum and then dealing with her estate, and then my stepmother died recently so it’s been one thing after another.

“I find it upsetting. I know it’s all wrong and it shouldn’t look like that, but I haven’t got the resolve to do something about it. I can only do one thing at a time and I have other things to deal with.”

Save spokesman Christina Emerson said: “Unfortunately it’s in a very poor state. It is very much a part of the local conservation area and if it were restored it could play an important role in maintaining the character of the area.”

A city council enforcement order was upheld in March but Mr Young will fight an appeal at Oxford Crown Court later this year.

A council spokesman said: “We are aware of 29 Old High Street in Headington but we have failed to persuade the owner to carry out the necessary remedial work.”

Abigail Rose, owner of nearby pub The Black Boy, said: “It’s a bit disappointing as it’s got the potential to be such a beautiful building.”

Johnny Pugsley, owner of Jacobs and Fields deli, said: “It is a shame. It could be a stunning property.”