Council to target empty homes

Steve Hayes

12 February 2010

EMPTY homes are the target of council chiefs looking to tidy up the district and plug the demand for housing.
They are offering owners grants to bring the properties back into use as part of a new strategy called From empty houses to new homes.
They will part-fund the renovation of the property back to a habitable state on the condition the council can nominate tenants to live in the properties at an affordable rent.
Many of the 600 privately owned homes standing disused or empty in the district have been so for more than six months, causing a host of problems such as vandalism, squatters and arson, and also devaluing neighbouring properties.
Demand for housing in the district is high and revised Government targets put the need at 7,500 new homes by 2026.
Stratford District Council housing chief, Stephen Gray said: "We are committed to providing many types of accommodation in the district in a range of ways.
"Empty homes are a wasted resource, particularly in areas like ours where demand for housing is high.
"Nobody wants to have empty housing next to them, especially when the owner is not taking responsibility for maintenance.
"We want to be proactive and ensure that neglected, long term empty properties are bought back to the housing market for the benefit of the local community."
Anyone can report an empty home to the council if it is causing them a problem.
For more information contact Carol Roberts, Empty Homes Officer at Stratford District Council, on 01789 260 866 or carol.roberts@stratford-dc.gov.uk or visit www.stratford.gov.uk.
*A BAN on large housing developments in the district could be one step closer to being lifted
A council committee was yesterday (Wednesday) set to decide on the future of the housing moratorium currently in place in the district.
The district council's cross-party Overview and Scrutiny Committee was set to review the decision made by the Cabinet in November to lift the moratorium, which was imposed in 2006.
The committee was also set to review a decision to continue to ban development on protected sites in the district including the site of a highly controversial 800-home planning application near Shottery.
In November the Cabinet agreed the moratorium should be lifted in an attempt to meet Government targets for some 7,500 homes in the district.
But planning chief, George Atkinson, said he could not support the recommendation of officers to release sites in so-called strategic reserve, because he had serious concerns about the proposed development on the site near Shottery and the cabinet agreed.
The decision of the committee will be referred back to the cabinet at a later date for a final decision.

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