After standing abandoned, neglected and vandalised for up to 11 years, the majority of Ministry of Defence houses in Bushey will be handed over to a housing firm next month.

The re-allocation of the 54 run-down properties has given residents, councillors and police hope that the area, recently the victim of crime and fly-tipping, will improve.

Ministry of Defence (MOD) representative Walter Scott confirmed that, of the houses being handed to Annington Homes in Harcourt Road, Mostyn Road, Turner Road and Sutcliffe Close, one had been empty for 11 years, several for three to five years and the rest for up to two years.

He added that the houses were seen as being surplus to the MOD’s requirements, an announcement many people in the village have been awaiting for more than five years.

Bushey St James Councillor Anita Gamble said she had been responding to issues with the empty homes ever since she was elected in the ward.

She added: “This is very good news. I just hope we can restore the place to what it was 20 years ago. It used to be a nice part of Bushey and now it’s not. There’s rubbish piled up, the houses are being vandalised, they don’t cut the hedges anymore. It’s terrible.”

Bushey Neighbourhood Sergeant Dave Simkin acknowledged that the area had seen a large amount of crime but added that “significant” arrests earlier this year had led to a dramatic reduction in the number of incidents.

He did, however, welcome redevelopment of the area and the filling of the empty properties.

He said: “Residents of the surrounding area have put up with it for long enough and it will be nice to see the houses occupied.”

Local police and councillors are seeking to use a former MOD office on the site as a community centre but Annington Homes were unable to confirm whether such plans were being made.

Georgina Ruttle, a representative for the firm, said: “Once Annington has been given control of these properties it will be able to undertake a full review of the site before deciding on what the next steps will be. No work is currently being undertaken at the site other than visits from surveyors undertaking utilities checks on the properties due to be handed back to Annington from the MOD.”

Councillor Gamble said that she would like to see the houses sold privately but predicted the country’s current financial situation would prevent that from happening.

She said: “I don’t know what will happen. No one knows. It’s good news but the saga continues.”

The MOD’s withdrawal from Bushey will not include properties on Edridge Close and Ford Close which will continue to house staff from RAF Northolt, Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood and MOD Head Office in Whitehall.