“Monks Road Resident, I like the cut of your jib, it's nice to know there are at least two of us singing from the same song-sheet. Big up for the Dog and Bone.”

“Funny isn't it, that the only people prepared to do down the Monks Road area are those who DON'T live here.

This area has MASSIVE potential which one day all you rather stupid Lincolners will suddenly realise when you get stop repeating the worn out mantra about Monks Road being a dump.

If this was ANY other English city the houses around the arboretum would be among the most expensive in the city. Not the cheapest!

I'm kind of happy yo all do the place down, it meant I could buy a HUGE Victorian house for less than the price of a 3 bed semi in a brain-dead estate in other parts of town.

Those of us who do live here and have even, like me gone as far as to buy a house here, know that it is a thriving and strong community.

We have the advantages of a lovely Victorian park outside our windows, views of the Cathedral and a 10 minute walk to the mainline railway station or Laura Ashley for some sophisticated shopping.

We are not all druggies down Monks Road. Sure, the area is Lincoln's Bohemia, but I don't have a problem with that. I like the alternative, artistic vibe.

We have one of Lincoln's best locals, in the Dog and Bone and we're literally on the Cathedral Quarter's doorstep.

When I came to Lincoln I looked in the West End (as that was the area everyone said was 'nice') and I looked at Monks Road. I couldn't see a lot of difference in the areas except that the West End is far denser and was then far more expensive too.

Sure, it's an inner city area with some crime problems, but believe it or not it's actually very safe to walk the streets here.

So give up on this Monks Road is a dump nonsense and come and see for yourself.

And once we have flushed out the last of the slum landlords like Davison the area will improve even more!”

“Let's get this story straight.

The house was rented to people with health and mental health issues.

The landlady has been collecting a tidy sum of money direct from the state for housing these unfortunates.

During the tenancy she's done as little as possible to maintain he property. The property got so bad that nobody in their right mind would have lived in it. So no doubt Ms Davison was happy to have someone NOT in their right mind to live there and enrich her further.

While dirt and squalor are not nice (and I watched the amazing amount of junk that was cleared out of this house fill skip after skip yesterday) they don't really damage the fabric of the building.

However, the blocked gutters, missing windows, missing roof tiles and poor general state of repair will degrade a property significantly, especially if left for a long time.

So why, if she is so concerned about her property, is she happy to leave a property in a state of near collapse until we, the neighbours, complain so much the council get involved (at which point the landlady 'suddenly' discovers the mess).

Please, Echo news journalists, do you homework next time and get the real and full story out there.”

“These minnows of landlords. They shouldn`t mess with the big boys. Know what I mean. I think I might buy a few thousand houses in Lincoln. Watch out here I come.”

“Talk about Rackmanism! It's as we were then 40 years down the line.”

“Come on Echo, what is going on? I read your paper to hear nonsensical people complaining about nonsensical things. Slum landlords are almost newsworthy, your standards are slipping, must do better!”

“This particular property has been an eyesore for the past couple of years, with rubbish and broken furniture etc a regular feature.
All landlords whether they are private or council, should be responsible for the external condition of the property and regular checks should be made to keep on top of any developing problems. One or two shabby houses really does create a bad impression of an entire area.
I have lived in this area for over 20years, some of the time there has been problems with social issues, immigration disharmony (often exaggerated in the media) and general untidiness. Presently, thanks to the huge number of people who love and enjoy the area, I feel that we are definately in a period of happy harmony. It is not perfect, as nowhere is, but it understands its community and like a chameleon adapts accordingly. Personally, I wouldn't live anywhere else in the city. We are 10mins from town, countryside, riverside, catherdral quarter and are lucky enough to have the arboretum, park and bowling green, school and hospital on our doorstep.
Happy to be here..”

“I am sure you can let it as it is, What with the new gypseys coming to town YAY!!!!”

“Don't trust landlords/ladies personally.

I used to have to move aorund quite a lot so lived in rented properties. some were okay but the rest were complete nightmare's.!

I think when dealing with landlords/ladies you have to understand their language, i.e.

if you call them and say your heating is broken they normally give the answer, 'will phone an engineer now and they will be with you ASAP to fix it.

Really what they are saying though is, 'I will write it down a some scrap paper, leave it lying around for 5 or 6 days and then call the cheapest cowboy around and tell him to fix the problem in the cheapest way possible cos hey what do I care, I don't actually have to live there myself.”

“If this was my licence to print money, then I would have held the reins a lot tighter. This trashing didn't happen overnight I don't suppose.”