Last month I blogged about how we were still waiting for action on empty homes by Reading Borough Council. The motion we put forward was passed in October 2007, so as you can imagine we were getting a bit fed up of waiting and constituents were starting to question further the Council's comittment to doing something about this problem.
As recently as last July,Yvette Cooper, then Labour Housing Minister said in the House of Commons:
"Local councils should think carefully about using some of their empty homes powers to bring some of those properties back into use. They have the powers to do so, but we are looking at more incentives as part of the Green Paper to support that."
You wonder why then the government saw fit to remove the duty on Councils to be judged on the number of empty homes it brings back into use as part of the national indicator set by which local authority performance is assessed. There is no doubt that where there is no duty to report to Whitehall or target to be reached local councils will focus their attentions elsewhere - because their funding largely depends on meeting nationally-set targets, rightly or wrongly. You can see this in social housing sector where the number of 'void' properties is measured by government inspectors every year as part of the Council's overall performance.
Key facts and figures on empty homes in Reading
- There are an estimated 91 empty private sector properties in Reading (source: RBC)
- The majority of such properties are to be found in the town centre (29 in Abbey ward)
- There are currently 5 properties which are considered long-term empty properties in Redlands ward i.e. unoccupied for more than 6 months
- Other wards with high levels of empty properties include Minister (11) and Katesgrove (9)
An Empty Homes Strategy for Reading
Today the Council has got round to launching it's long-awaited empty homes strategy. The new strategy will be debated next month at Cabinet and It will be on the Council's website shortly. I'll post a link when I find one.
I had a meeting with one of the Council's lead officers a few weeks ago to discuss the Council's new draft empty homes strategy. Under the new policy, empty properties which are reported to the Council will be assesssed against the 'Empty Homes Matrix. The matrix takes into account specific factors about the property including the location e.g. situated on a gateway route to Reading or area of significant depravation in the Town Centre; engagement with the owner; management standard; impact upon neighbouring properties. I suggested to officers that empty properties in or on the edge of Conservation areas (like Christchurch Road which borders two!)should also be given priority.
As part of the strategy an officer will have responsiblity for co-ordinating the Council's work on empty homes. We lobbied for this as it is officer time to devote to these often time-consuming issues which has been so lacking recent years.
Also, bringing empty properties back into use requires liaison with various Council departments such as planning, environmental health and housing so it will need someone with the time to join the dots. My campaign to get Alexandra House on London Road brought back into use was a case in point as this project involved several different agencies including the Police, the Council and the Fire Service.
Why private sector housing matters
In Reading, Owner-occupied i.e. private housing accounts for 62% of all housing stock in the town, with private rented accomodation comprising a whopping 20% (which is well above average compared to other towns).
Although Reading Borough Council is denerally well regarded as a social landlord overall, it's worth remembering that local authority-controlled social housing in Reading only accounts for a mere 12 % of housing stock. The Lib Dems in Reading would like to see the Council do more to tackle issues in the private sector such as "buy to leave" properties, HMOs, empty homes and fuel poverty.
A survey of the sector carried out last year found that housing the highest levels of non-decency (disrepair) in housing in Reading are in the pre 1919 properties, the private rented sector and self-contained converted flats. The government's decent homes agenda which aims to ensure that all social housing is brought up to a good standard by 2010 is to be welcomed, but I would like to see Council's powers extended to ensure that tenants and residents in private homes are also helped to live in decent homes.
Sadly the problem of empty homes does not only affect the private housing market. As Gareth's campaign to help residents of Townsend House in Katesgrove showed, registered social landlords can be even more difficult to press into action.
What next for the Lib Dem campaign on empty homes?
Well that's more than enough on the policy background. The proof in the strategy is in the action that comes out of it, and if it doesn't work we will investigate why and take this up directly with Council officers. No strategy is a panacea for all ills, after all.
he Lib Dems in Reading will continue to focus on highlighting those empty homes that are attracting anti-social behaviour, or that are an eyesore and doing our best to get the Council should bring back into use.
On a ward level I will be pressing the Council to put words into action and get the landlord of 35 Christchurch Road to bring his property back into use as I know this issue is very important to my constituents living in this area.
Please let me know of any longstanding empty properties in your area and we will happily investigate what can be done about them.
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