A BATTLE over a now-demolished home in the Redearth Triangle in Darwen has seen a householder walk away with nearly £10,000 more than he was offered by council bosses.

Adrian Walker consistently opposed attempts to pull down his Redearth Road home to make way for the now-built £33million Darwen Academy - but he failed in a High Court bid to prevent a compulsory purchase order.

Later Mr Walker was given a valuation of £97,500 for the property by Blackburn with Darwen Council's agents Capita - but his own surveyors suggested a figure of £110,000.

His father, Allen Walker, who represented his son at a hearing of the Lands Chamber, sitting in Manchester, said that another property on Sunnybank Street, said to be in 'poor condition' was valued at £870 per square metre.

But even though his son's Redearth Street house had been rated initially as 'excellent' and later 'very good' the District Valuer's valuation was £867 per square metre.

The tribunal also heard that Mr Walker, who bought the house in 2000, had carried out 'significant refurbishment', including extensive roof repairs, replacing most of the woodwork, all windows, doors and floors and re-plastering walls and ceilings.

He has also had the building rewired and replumbed, as well as installing a new kitchen and bathroom and sandblasting the exterior.

Tribunal surveyor Peter McCrea said that the ceiling placed on the value of Redearth Street properties by the District Valuer was

£100,000 - though this was 'too low' in the case of Mr Walker's home.

"There is no doubt that the subject property would have been of attraction to purchasers, and was in first class order having been comprehensively refurbished," he added.

Mr McCrea's judgement was that the home was worth £106,000 and Mr Walker was entitled to compensation of £10,600 for the loss of the house, alongside a £700 payout for 'disturbance'. He is also entitled to statutory interest on the sums.

However the adjudicator did rule out claims made by Mr Walker for representation at public inquiries and High Court hearings and school travel costs for his daughter.

Council bosses faced a long battle over securing compulsory purchase orders for the Academy project, with a government inspector stripping the authority of powers over 11 disputed homes at one point, before final permissions were obtained.