Agenda item

To approve the Draft Empty Property Strategy 2023-2025.

That the draft Empty Property Strategy 2023-25 be APPROVED.  

60.1           The report of the Environmental Health Manager, circulated at Pages No. 39-48, outlined the options for utilising long-term empty properties and presented a strategy for the Council to address the problem of long-term empty properties within the Borough. Members were asked to approve the draft Empty Property Strategy 2023/25.

60.2           The Environmental Health Manager explained that long-term empty properties could have a significant impact on the environmental quality of an area and could attract anti-social behaviour. Furthermore, long-term empty properties, if utilised, could represent a valuable resource to meet housing demand and achieve affordable housing objectives for the Borough. A number of options were available to assist local authorities in bringing long-term empty properties back into use. A long-term empty property was defined as a property that remained unoccupied for a period longer than six months – this did not include second homes unless the owner had declared it to the Council as being a long-term empty property. There were currently 237 long-term empty properties currently on the Council Tax database; of those, the majority (97) had been empty from six to 12 months; 70 from 12 to 24 months; 43 from two to five years; 20 from five to 10 years; and 7 over 10 years.

60.3           The strategy was based on three overlapping elements: phase 1 – planning, identification and prioritisation; phase 2 – engagement with property owners and community; and phase 3 – property solutions. The first phase would obtain accurate and reliable information on the long-term empty properties within the Borough - including information regarding property ownership, tenure, condition and length of time unoccupied – in accordance with best practice this would allow the Council to develop a risk-based register of empty properties which would enable each property to be risk-assessed, prioritised and subject to a property action plan – the empty property register would be maintained by the Environmental Health team; the aim of phase two was to engage with property owners and stakeholders to secure a viable solution for long-term empty properties; and the third phase was to ensure the Council made effective use of its powers to deal with long-term empty properties in circumstances where the engagement approach outlined had not achieved a satisfactory outcome. Like most local authorities, the Council applied Council Tax premiums for long-term empty properties; 100% for properties empty for two years; 200% for those empty for five years; and 300% for properties empty for 10 years or more. The strategy was flexible and would be sensitive in terms of probate etc.

60.4           A Member noted there was a need to identify empty homes and she questioned how that could be addressed before new homes were built and whether they could help meet the affordable homes gap. In response, the Environmental Health Manager explained that this would be part of the prioritisation process and, when the register was complete, it would take into account the type and tenure of homes. In terms of Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs), this would be a last resort and each case would be judged on its own merits but the option would be fully explored if necessary. The target date for completion of phase 1 was mid-2024 with all properties visited and risk assessed by summer 2024. Another Member expressed concern that there were some types of property which would not meet the needs of the Council e.g. if it was Grade II Listed. In response, the Environmental Health Manager explained that Officers would look to get all properties back into use to try and ensure they had a sustainable future. In respect of the amount of additional work for the Environmental Health team, the Manager explained that the site visits would be a challenge, but the initial visits could be incorporated into other visits.

60.5           Accordingly, it was