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Issue - meetings

Long-Term Empty Property Strategy 2024 - 2029

 

 

Meeting: 03/10/2024 - Cabinet (Item 12)

12 Long-Term Empty Property Strategy 2024 - 2029 pdf icon PDF 108 KB

Purpose

To present an updated Long Term Empty Property Strategy to support the management of long-term empty properties within Cotswold district

 

Recommendation

That Cabinet resolves to:

1.    Approve the implementation of the Long-Term Empty Property Strategy for 2024 - 2025

 

Additional documents:

Decision:

The purpose of the report was to present an updated Long Term Empty Property Strategy to support the management of long-term empty properties within Cotswold district.

 

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Mike Evemy introduced the item.

 

The Business Manager - Environmental, Welfare and Revenue Service answered queries from Cabinet on the policy.

 

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Mike Evemy and seconded by Councillor Joe Harris.

 

RESOLVED: That Cabinet

1.    APPROVED the implementation of the Long-Term Empty Property Strategy for 2024 – 2025.

Minutes:

The purpose of the report was to present an updated Long Term Empty Property Strategy to support the management of long-term empty properties within the Cotswold district.

 

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Mike Evemy, introduced the item and outlined the following points:

 

  • The strategy was an updated policy which followed on from the additional Council Tax levies for those properties empty for more than a year.
  • The purpose of the policy was to ensure that properties were brought back into use as soon as possible.
  • Section 8 of the policy identified the steps that would be taken to ensure properties would come back into use.
  • The four key objectives in section 9 were presented as follows:

-       To gather relevant, accurate and current information about empty homes

-       Provide advice, assistance and guidance to landlords and property owner

-       To raise awareness of empty homes in the district and promote the strategy

-       To reduce the number of empty homes and return empty homes back into use, through all available and appropriate means

 

A question was raised regarding collaboration with the social rented sector on the policy to bring houses back into use. The Business Manager - Environmental, Welfare and Revenue Service set out to Cabinet how the Council will engage with owners of homes in order to find out why its empty and provide advice on bringing these back into use. It was noted that many of the barriers to changing these empty properties related to cost.

 

Cabinet noted the figure of 864 homes in the district that were classed as being ‘long term-empty’. A question was asked about how many of these were derelict and couldn’t be sold on and what would be done. It was noted that the figure of 864 was from the end of the 2023/24 financial year, and the current figure for the end of Q2 was now 545. Some more analysis was needed regarding the premium. For derelict properties, it was noted that all of the Council service areas would be involved in dealing with these properties as these were not easy to deal with.

 

Cabinet noted that it would be useful to see the breakdown for how long properties had been empty for and the impact of the additional Council Tax levies

 

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Mike Evemy and seconded by Councillor Joe Harris.

 

 

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