400 homes standing empty in Telford
About 400 houses are standing empty in Telford, new figures have shown.
The number of privately-owned unoccupied homes in the borough has come to light during a review by Telford & Wrekin Council's housing, economy & infrastructure scrutiny committee.
The review of empty properties and private landlords in the borough also looked into what the council is doing to bring such homes back into use and has made 19 recommendations of ways to solve the growing problem.
Committee chair Chris Turley said: "Our priority was to ensure that everything possible is being done to ensure that empty properties in the borough are being brought back to occupation.
"Not only can empty properties cause problems but if the council helps to bring an empty property back into use, it can get income from the Government's New Homes Bonus scheme which can be put back into local services.
"As the watchdog of council policy, we recognise the good work that has been done and make some recommendations for how this might continue, particularly raising awareness of the issue and the importance of reporting empty properties as soon as possible."
Councillor Charles Smith, cabinet member for housing development and borough towns, said: "We have noted the committee's recommendations and we will be taking many of these forward.
"We want to regenerate local neighbourhoods and this includes bringing empty properties back into use, and ensuring that local people have access to suitable housing."
The main recommendations were to raise awareness in the area about the need to report empty properties as early as possible so work can be done to prevent deterioration
The committee saw the council has only one empty property officer and recommended that the council be clear about how properties are prioritised so the public can understand more about what is going on to save the empty homes.
The committee welcomed the fact that the council had taken a concerted approach to solving the problem, has invested in an empty property officer and the work being done to support owners of empty houses.
The committee's report, which includes its recommendations, will be presented to the council's cabinet on Thursday (MAY 15).
