Council fails to meet empty homes target

District council falls 20 per cent short of aim

WEST Berkshire Council has failed to meet its target for the number of empty homes in the district being brought back into use.

The Conservative-controlled council set itself a goal of ensuring that 80 unused homes would be occupied by March 31, 2015.

However, a recent report revealed that it has brought just 64 back into use – falling 20 per cent short of its target.

During a council meeting last week, the opposition spokesman for housing, Alan Macro (Lib Dem, Theale), said: “We were told on two or three occasions that 80 was a low target and easily achievable.”

The council’s former portfolio holder for housing, Hilary Cole, said: “I would agree that we have not met our target and that is disappointing.

"However, it was not so many years ago that we were congratulating ourselves on bringing 18 homes into use, so I think we are making significant improvements.”

The council blamed the missed target on interim management arrangements being in place during quarter three which it said impacted on the empty homes officers’ capacity to undertake the work.

It added that a delayed software package update hindered officers’ ability to contact home owners.

News of the council’s failure to meet its empty homes target came in the same week it admitted that the 37 empty affordable homes at Parkway were no closer to being occupied.

In 2008, it gave £900,000 of taxpayers’ money to Parkway developers to ensure that 37 of the 147 homes built there were affordable, following the company’s claim that it couldn’t afford to build any.

The 37 units were completed in early 2013, but they are still empty almost two years later, owing to SLI’s failure to negotiate terms with a social housing provider to manage them.