A DEFIANT widow today vowed to stay put in her demolition-threatened home - after council bosses redeveloping her South Yorkshire pit village did not offer her enough money to buy a replacement in the area.
Madge Hopes, of Brunswick Street, Thurnscoe, says it is wrong that Barnsley Council wants her to leave and force her back into debt when she and her late husband John struggled for more than 30 years to pay off their mortgage.
The 67-year-old retired dinner lady, who lives with her grandson, 20, and two granddaughters, both eight, said all she wanted was to spend her retirement in peace at the terrace house with her family.
Mrs Hopes is the last remaining resident in the area and her property is surrounded by empty streets and the rubble of flattened houses.
She said: "I've lived here for 46 years and only paid off the mortgage soon after John died in 1994.
"It was a struggle to keep up the repayments - we had three children to feed - and now I don't want to have to take out a loan so I can afford to move elsewhere.
"Why should I be forced to leave and go back into debt? The council should offer a like-for-like swap. If they can't do that, they should build around me."
Barnsley Council is offering Mrs Hopes £77,000 for her home, but she says the only suitable three-bedroom house for sale in the village is £112,000.
Officials said the pensioner can bridge the gap with an interest-free loan which need not be repaid until her new home is sold in the future.
But, while the dispute continues, Mrs Hopes is continuing to live among the rubble.
Two neighbouring homes left standing because they are part of the same terrace have been vandalised, set on fire, and flooded.
Barnsley Council said Mrs Hopes and her family must move out so it can complete demolition and begin rebuilding the estate under the Government-funded housing market renewal project.
Similar redevelopments are taking place around South Yorkshire but have proved controversial.
Opponents claim residents are sometimes forced to move and go into debt when their homes are in perfectly good condition, and when it would be cheaper to renovate rundown properties than rebuild.
Rachael Allington, Barnsley Council's housing market renewal project manager, said: "Unfortunately, quite often owner-occupied properties required for demolition have a lower value than properties identified as suitable alternative accommodation.
"To enable owner-occupiers to bridge the gap, Barnsley Council has developed a Relocation Appreciation Loan.
"This is only repaid when the replacement property is sold on in the future, meaning the owner is not financially worse off.
"We will continue to liaise with Mrs Hopes to try to reach a solution. In the meantime, we will ensure the council-owned empty dwellings attached to her property remain safe and secure.
"Inspections are carried out daily, and weekly estate inspections are also undertaken."
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