COUNCILS are being urged to tackle the problem of empty homes as the number of vacant properties in south and west Dorset nears 1,000.

The number of households on the waiting list for housing in Weymouth and Portland is currently 4,775 with another 1,668 in West Dorset.

West Dorset District Council and Weymouth and Portland Borough Council have pledged to tackle the housing crisis using £150,000 of government funding.

There are currently 408 empty houses in Weymouth and Portland and also another 540 in West Dorset.

Properties can be left empty for many reasons, most commonly due to being up for sale or renovation. The councils have highlighted a total of 200 empty ‘problem properties’ they will prioritise to get back into use over the next three years.

The funding is part of a national incentive, the new homes bonus, announced by the government in February last year.

The £150,000 will be used to fund an officer to deal with empty homes, work with property owners and cover the legal cost of enforcement.

Councillor Amanda Legg, housing spokesman for the borough council, said: “The scheme gives us a fantastic opportunity to tackle the problem of empty houses in the borough, which is a big issue nationwide.

“Residents can help by reporting empty homes in their neighbourhood.”

For every empty house returned to use the councils will get around £7,000 over the next six years.

District councillor Robert Gould said: “The council needs to maximise its income from every possible source to protect frontline services.

“Bringing empty homes back into use will help us do this, as well as tackling the obvious waste of properties standing empty.”

The problem of empty homes was highlighted in a national television programme last year that looked into the number of cases across the UK.

It comes at the same time that leading think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research, called for more money to be spent on building affordable homes rather than on housing benefits.

Recently published figures show Weymouth and Portland Borough Council is the joint worst in the country for building new affordable homes.

Coun Legg said: “The television show really highlighted the problem.”

Bonus is welcomed

MEMBERS of the borough council management committee welcomed the new homes bonus at a meeting earlier this year when they approved the allocation of the funding.

Councillor Peter Chapman said: “We have to make sure the problem of empty homes is cracked, that there are no delays in allocating housing and protecting green spaces.

“Retaining empty houses to use is another priority.”

Councillor Kate Wheller said: “I welcome the report, I know of properties that have been empty for 20 years and it will be great to see it being dealt with.

“I would like assurance that we can treat empty homes robustly because it’s a disgrace to have them empty with so many families to be housed.”

Empty houses are 'eyesores'

SYNERGY Housing is responsible for two houses in Weymouth that have been empty for around four years.

A spokesman for Synergy said: “The empty properties on Shirecroft Road need structural work and refurbishment before they can be lived in.

“There have been ongoing issues with these houses involving insurance claims and planning permission.

“It is hoped work will start in June and that by autumn they will be let again.

“Both of them are two or three bedroom family homes.”

A resident of High Street, Wyke Regis, who did not want to be named, said that an empty house in the street is ‘an eyesore’.

“I’ve complained about it to the council loads of times and all they’ve done is board up the windows. Now the boarding is peeling and the windowsills are coming off.”