Almost 500 homes in Swindon have been left vacant over the past six months according to the latest Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities report.
Revealing the details campaign group Action on Empty Homes called the latest figures ‘shocking’ with Swindon Humanitarian Aid Partnership calling the situation ‘ridiculous.’
The data report shows that at least 473 properties in Swindon have been sitting empty for more than six months in a recent count in October which looked at council tax status.
In positive news the number of homes sat empty for at least half a year has decreased by 7% from 511 in 2021.
Across England, there were 676,500 vacant properties at the latest count.
Some 248,600 (37 per cent) of these had been lying empty for six months or more – the highest number since 2012, excluding 2020, when the pandemic caused a temporary shutdown in the housing market.
Chris Bailey, national campaign manager for Action on Empty Homes, said: “After more than a decade of intense housing crisis it is shocking to see long-term empty homes in England rise to 250,000 – another 11,000 more wasted empties, while nearly 100,000 families are trapped in temporary accommodation, costing the nation over £1.5 billion pounds a year.
“A new national empty homes programme is long overdue – the Government needs to step up to the plate and offer funding and incentives to get these homes back into use.”
He added that long-term empty homes are a ‘huge missed opportunity’ to create new jobs through low-carbon retrofitting.
Mike Bowden Chair of Swindon Humanitarian Aid Partnership when asked about the numbers said “We are all aware that homelessness in Swindon is a significant issue for both locals and many visitors from war torn countries.
“How ridiculous is it that today we discover that this number of homes are left empty in the town.”
A premium of 100% council tax can be charged to owners when a property has been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for 2 years rising to 200% if the property remains unoccupied unfurnished for 5 years.
