Press Release
29 October 2007Paice Renews Call For Action On Empty Homes
Official figures show homelessness and empty homes rising sharply in East Cambs
Local MP Jim Paice has renewed his call for empty homes to be reused after obtaining figures which reveal that homelessness in East Cambridgeshire has risen by almost a tenth over the past year. In the same time, the number of houses lying empty in the area has risen by 16% and now stands at 911.
Commenting on the figures, released in answer to written parliamentary questions, Mr Paice said: “I raised this issue with Ministers two years ago and was promised action but the problem is getting worse not better.
“Given the housing shortage we are facing, it is a scandal that almost a thousand homes in East Cambridgeshire lie dormant.
“With homelessness rising and great swathes of greenfield land being earmarked for development, we must be looking to utilise this wasted resource.
“Empty homes, particularly those unoccupied for long periods of time, can quickly fall into disrepair and attract crime and anti-social behaviour.
“Bringing them back into use has a number of benefits – it reduces the risk of blight to adjacent properties, eases the pressure on housing stock and minimises the need to develop greenfield land.”
Jim will be meeting with the chief executive of East Cambridgeshire District Council, John Hill, to discuss the matter next week. He will also be meeting with the chief executive of Hereward Housing, Nick Abbey, in Ely in the coming weeks to discuss a range of local housing matters.
Jim continued: “The majority of empty homes are privately owned so the challenge is for local authorities to find the owners and encourage them to bring their housing stock into use.
“Clearly there are some properties which lie empty for a perfectly good reason but for others enforcement action – where voluntary measures fail - may be required to bring them into
