ALMOST £4m will be spent by Barnsley Council to bring empty homes across the borough back into use.
The local authority has approved its empty homes programme for 2018/2021, which will see £3.99m generated from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) pumped into boosting 39 empty properties.
In total, according to the council, there are 1,582 homes in Barnsley classed as long-term empty - with more than 95 per cent being privately owned - but it’s hoped the work on the first group of properties will kick-start further projects.
Within the private sector, 954 homes have been empty for two years, 362 for five years, 121 for ten years and 70 have been unoccupied for more than a decade.
Of the council’s own housing stock, just one property has been empty for more than ten years, but 53 have been without a tenant for a two-year period.
A council report said: “Empty homes are a wasted resource. There is a need for an additional 1,100 houses a year to meet demand across all tenures so each empty property brought back into use reduces the need for new supply.
“Empty homes that are brought back into use can help to meet the demand for affordable social housing. There are currently almost 6,900 applicants on the council’s waiting list.
“These properties cause blight to neighbourhoods. Long-term empty properties are often in bad repair and can be a magnet for antisocial behaviour and crime. They undermine neighbourhoods’ reputations and as a consequence can cause a reduction in rental and capital values.
“Housing that is brought back into use through the new programme will be added to the council’s stock of housing and let to applicants on the waiting list.”
The majority of the housing - 35 units - will be purchased, refurbished and added to the council’s housing stock, while four homes will be created through the conversion of empty, non-domestic properties already in the council’s ownership.
“An application for £995,000 in grant funding was made to the HCA in summer 2017. To strengthen the bid, match funding totalling £2,995,000 was identified from the council’s own resources, giving a total indicative programme value of £3.99m.
“We have an ambition to return 135 long-term empty homes to use from now until 2020. It is self-evident from the number in the borough that more needs to be done to reduce long-term empty figures.”
Contact has already been made with owners, with 48 being offered up for sale to the council, while officers such as Jeanette Millward and Chris Platts - responsible for private housing enforcement - have been working at problematic streets in Cudworth, Grimethorpe and Royston over the last year.
Coun Roy Miller, cabinet spokesman, said: “Nationally, empty homes are a major problem and a wasted resource where housing is in great demand.
“Here in Barnsley we’re bucking that trend - our specialist team are working hard in partnership with Berneslai Homes to tackle the problem and bring homes back into use.
“The team identifies reasons why properties remain empty and find solutions for this including handling legal issues, securing funding for refurbishment and getting the property ready to let.
“We’re really delighted to have secured funding which will be added to match funding from the council’s own resources.
“It’s excellent news for Barnsley as we’ll use the money to buy and repair a total of 39 currently empty properties. Over the next three years, these properties will be refurbished to a high standard and become council homes, helping to meet the demand for affordable social housing for local people to rent.”
