A terrace of five derelict cottages near Burton Latimer is to be given a new lease of life at an estimated cost of over £56,000.

The property, 1-5 Windmill Cottages, Cranford Road, just outside Burton Latimer, has been empty for several years.

The roof, internal walls and floorboards have caved in and the site is littered with rubble and rubbish.

But the owner, Oxfordshire roofing contractor Mr Charles Attley, of Horton-cum-Studley, feels that they are worth repairing.

He said the plans are to “put them back together again” and put them on the market.

He estimates they will cost £11,205 each to renovate. And this week the borough council’s housing sub-committee approved renovation grants of £2,500 on each of the cottages – a total of £12,500.

A council spokesman said: “We have been pushing for some time to get this property either repaired or demolished.”

The brick terrace, some distance from other housing in the area, was built around 1890.