Residents in four deserted tower blocks in the UK are being offered over £7,000 just to leave.

The blocks make up the College Bank estate in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, where some residents say the conditions are "getting worse".

According to campaigners, the estate has been in "managed decline" since the council's housing stock was taken over by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH).

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That is despite RBH's claim they are investing £20million into the dilapidated community, reports Manchester Evening News.

Six years ago plans were announced to demolish four of the blocks at Seven Sisters, and this year residents were offered more than £7,000 from RBH to move.

Many have jumped at this opportunity, but some do not want to leave.

With no new lettings in any of the blocks while RBH look to rehouse people, the exodus of neighbours has left dirty buildings and boarded up garages.

Just 11 of the 120 flats in the Mitchell Hey block are currently occupied.

"There’s no way I’m leaving, I’ve been here 27 years, I’m not going anywhere," one resident from neighbouring the Dunkirk Rise block said.

"They are definitely looking more run down now.

"It would be good if they were taken back by the council and to get some more people back in so there’s more of a community again."

RBH say demolishing the blocks is key to their plan to regenerate College Bank and nearby Lower Falinge over the next two decades.

But local campaigners have been fighting to save the blocks, arguing that perfectly good homes will be lost.

They've been given hope by a government decision earlier this year that gave the council permission to re-enter the market by opening a Housing Revenue Account (HRA) with no ‘legacy debt’.

RBH describes itself as a tenant and employee co-owned mutual housing society.

Relations between the council and RBH have become increasingly strained over recent years, with the housing organisation's controversial regeneration proposals fiercely criticised.

RBH has previously said it would be "willing to facilitate the council taking on responsibility" for the Seven Sisters, if it came forward with "a realistic alternative plan to generate the £90m-plus needed to fund the works to all seven blocks at College Bank" – something it's hoped the re-opening of the HRA would allow.

Paul Walker, who has lived in the Town Mill Brow block (which RBH say is 70% empty) for 33 years, said: "It doesn’t make any sense to me, these are good flats that they could be making money off.

"I’ve been here 33 years and I’m 79 now, I don’t want to be moving, my health isn’t good enough for it.

"I get letters through every few months offering if I’d like to move but I’m not going to."

Stephen Byram has lived in the same building for the last five years but has decided to take up the offer of payment.

"Living conditions here aren’t the best, it’s been getting worse in the time I’ve been living here," he says.

"It seems like they’ve stopped bothering since announcing knocking down, you hardly see the caretakers anymore.

"They did start boarding up doors of people that were moving out but they’ve now been taken off."

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An RBH spokesman said in a statement: "Our team are providing tailored professional support to all residents in the four blocks scheduled for demolition.

"Our project to remodel and refurbish the Underwood block is underway, with an estimated investment of over £12m. Residents within the block are part of the steering group working to develop these plans.

"In addition to this, we are currently investing around £20m across all seven blocks on improvement works. This includes fire and evacuation alarms and upgraded doors."

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