DOZENS of empty, near derelict homes plagued by squatters and drug abusers must be brought back into use after 40 years, according to a new petition.

There are 79 empty houses on Enfield's stretch of the road while more than 6,000 people are registered homeless in the borough.

Residents living nearby say the houses are a magnet for squatters and drug abusers, with flytipping and abandoned needles an ongoing problem.

Liberal Democrat activist Dawn Barnes is one resident who is fed up waiting for something to happen and has launched a petition calling for action.

The houses were bought under a compulsory purchase order at different times since 1970, when there were plans to widen the North Circular.

However, the scheme ran out of money and out of steam.

Enfield Council is now trying to persuade the Homes and Communities Agency to lend £80 million so the council can buy the homes back from Transport for London (TfL) and bring them back into use as part of a development of 400 new homes.

Mrs Barnes said both Labour and Conservative councillors have done nothing but argue about the issue.

"They blame each other and the respective mayors for not doing anything about it, but they seem unable to work together to tackle an issue that affects the people that elected them. They are happier to bicker than to take responsibility for actually getting something done.

"We just want to see these houses lived in and cared for, providing some desperately needed family homes, and in so doing make the area much better for the people in the houses that weren't bought."

Mayor of London Boris Johnson agrees the situation is urgent. In his housing manifesto, he said: "It is unacceptable that, in spite of waiting lists increasing by 68 per cent, houses owned by the GLA estate are empty. TfL owns around 79 units on the North Circular Road, which are empty and have become havens of crime and antisocial behaviour."

Mr Johnson also set up the Outer London Commission to focus on the outer london boroughs which he said that Ken Livingstone had neglected during his time as mayor.

Enfield Council leader Mike Rye said his administration was the first in four decades to take action.

"I fully understand the frustration of residents, however the funding questions will be resolved shortly, which means an end to the perpetual indecision by various public bodies over the years," he said.

Labour leader, Cllr Jeff Rodin, however said politicians from both parties had tried to improve the situation for residents to no end until former London Mayor, Ken Livingstone decided to change the A406 scheme in 2007.

The reality is that the problem with all the issues surrounding the North Circular is getting some clarity on the issue of what's going to happen to the road.

"It's not always in councillors' power to do something. I totally empathise with the people who live in that road in the sense that they are suffering from that."

Cllr Rye said the council was hoping for a decision on funding in the autumn.

The Homes and Communities Agency was unavailable for comment.