West Norfolk empty homes shock
SHOCKING new figures reveal there are 25 empty homes for every homeless family in the most dire need, in West Norfolk.
West Norfolk Council released the figures in the midst of a national awareness week to highlight the amount of desperately-needed homes that are not being used.
In the last three months there were 39 families in "priority" need for housing in the borough and around 6,000 awaiting more appropriate homes, while home owners allowed 970 houses to stand empty. Of those, 572, thought to be mainly privately owned, have been unused for more than a year.
NOT LIVED IN FOR UP TO 20 YEARS
Some have remained empty for much longer – including the Lynn house pictured, which is thought not to have been lived in for up to 20 years.
In Breckland there are 384 homes known to be empty.
West Norfolk Council cabinet member for community Cllr David Harwood said: "Housing is clearly on the national agenda and locally we recognise the need to make the best use of existing housing.
"It is shocking that so many existing properties lie empty. We are taking steps to try to ensure that owners do not let decent houses fall into ruin, particularly at a time when we are seeking to provide more affordable housing across the borough."
Last year homeless families and pregnant women were forced to stay for an average of three weeks in bed-and-breakfast accommodation and 14 weeks in hostels in West Norfolk because of the housing shortage.
The borough council has made a commitment to bring empty homes into use and from April it will make it more expensive to leave a property empty by reducing council tax discounts for empty homes from 50 per cent to ten per cent.
Some of the extra cash raised through the change will pay for an officer to focus on initiatives to bring properties back into use, for example through promotion of available renovation grants and where necessary triggering enforcement action. Existing policies have recently been used to bring one home in Downham back into use.
Manager of Merchants Terrace, St Matthews Housing homeless hostel, in Lynn, Mrs Katie Smith said it was difficult to see how owners of holiday homes – empty for much of the year – could be forced to rent them out, but was keen for run-down properties to be brought back into use.
"They do need to do something about it, but need to think it through," she said. "It should not just be a knee-jerk reaction."
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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