A development company that waged a 13-year legal battle to evict a mechanic from his South Norwood premises is now his solicitor's landlord, it has emerged.

In April Greathall Limited paid £265,000 at auction to buy 25 Station Road, near Norwood Junction station, the ground floor of which is occupied by legal firm Haider Kennedy.

One of the firm's clients is Richard Hough, 54, who last October was forced to give up his popular Autoclutch garage on the nearby Railway Buildings plot after years of fighting Greathall's plans to turn the site into flats.

Since 2013, Haider Kennedy has represented Mr Hough in his legal fight to save the business he has described as "his life" - including lodging an unsuccessful Supreme Court appeal in 2014 to overturn an eviction notice from Greathall.

RELATED: Developers quit project to turn South Norwood garage into flats - months after evicting mechanic following 14-year battle

Mr Hough, who spent more than 40 years working at Autoclutch after joining as 12-year-old apprentice, claimed the developer's purchase of his solicitor's office was a "conflict of interest".

He added "I just keep asking why? What was the point? Why would [Greathall] spend that money?"

Haider Kennedy's 15-year tenancy in Station Road, which provides a yearly rental income of £20,000, is up for renewal in November 2017.

Mr Hough said: "If I want to take any future action... how can I now go to court and know that pressure won't be asserted by the developer?"

When contacted by the Croydon Guardian, Shuja Haider, the legal firm's principal solicitor, said he was not prepared to comment.

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Haider Kennedy solicitors in Station Road 

Greathall Limited, under the control of developers James Groux and Serina Drake, bought the Railway Buildings plot for £112,000 from Railtrack in 2002 with the stated intention of replacing the existing industrial units - including Mr Hough's garage - with housing.

In 2008 the company also purchased 27 Station Road, for £265,000.

Despite spending 13 years embroiled in legal battles to remove Mr Hough from the site, both Mr Groux and Ms Drake resigned as directors of the company just months after the mechanic was evicted last year.

RELATED: Mechanic at centre of Croydon's longest planning battle prepares to shut up shop after 13 years of battling

The company's sole remaining director is Xhevat Lita, a building contractor based in Charlton, who was appointed in November 2013.

In an emailed response to questions about 25 Station Road, Mr Lita said: "When we buy property we buy it purely on a commercial basis, as we already have other properties in the area it makes commercial sense to buy others in the area.

"I cannot see how this is conflict of interest - our case with Richard Hough has finished long time ago, maybe you know something I don’t know."

An abbreviated balance sheet for Greathall Limited for up to November 30 last year, filed with Companies House in April days before the £265,000 purchase of 25 Station Road, showed Greathall Limited holding £250 in cash reserves and £11,131 in shareholders' funds.

The balance sheet also showed £579,402 in fixed tangible assets.

Following Mr Hough's eviction from Railway Buildings in October and more than a decade after Greathall purchased the site, work began on the plot earlier this year despite a number of issues with planning conditions.

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