Liberal Democrats launch plan to bring a quarter of a million empty homes back into use

9.35.55pm GMT Mon 1st Feb 2010

Cllr Peter Wilcock, the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Saffron Walden Constituency, has welcomed the Liberal Democrat plan to bring a quarter of a million empty homes back into use - making homes available for people who need them and creating 65,000 jobs.

There are over 760,000 empty properties across England, which are no longer used as homes but can be brought back into use with some investment. Under the Lib Dem plan, people who own these homes will get a grant or a cheap loan to renovate them so they can be used - grants if the home is for social housing, loans for private use.

The plans form part of the economic stimulus package outlined as a core principle of the Liberal Democrat election manifesto. In the first year of the new Parliament, the party would redirect over £3.6bn of spending to create jobs and build up Britain's infrastructure. In the following years this money will be redirected to other Lib Dem spending priorities and reducing the structural deficit.

Commenting, Peter Wilcock said:

"Allowing thousands of houses to sit empty when millions of families have been waiting years for a home is nothing short of a scandal.

"In Uttlesford, there are 914 empty properties which are empty. I have been trying to persuade Uttlesford District Council to act to bring long term empty properties back into use. One small cottage in Widdington has not been occupied for over 14 years, and the council has done nothing to bring it back to occupation. There are a further 1551 empty properties in Chelmsford Borough.

"The cost of bringing these homes back into use is just a fraction of the cost of building a new house, yet the Government is sitting idly by while they fall into disrepair. This is one element of our economic stimulus package that will generate jobs and help Britain on its way to building a fair, sustainable economy."