Latest Empty Property News 2008
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October 2008
St Helens crackdown on empty homes - 30th October 2008
24dash - Hereford,UK
St Helens Council, as part of its Empty Property Strategy, has taken ownership of two derelict houses at 62 Emily Street and 3 Elm Road through two ...
Is it worth it? South Lodge £275000 - 26th October 2008
Times Online - UK
Since that time, it has been mostly left empty. The property is now being sold by the London borough of Hammersmith & Fulham. The two-bedroom, single-storey ...
Mayor backtracks on 50000 affordable homes target - 24th October 2008
Building.co.uk - UK
Williams said the government should instead use the proposed Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to ensure more homes could be built in the upturn. ...
Despite waiting list, 500 council houses are empty - 22nd October 2008
Salford Advertiser - Salford,England,UK
OVER 500 council houses have been left empty, despite thousands of people on the waiting list to get council homes. Figures obtained exclusively by the ...
Stop the repo man - 21st October 2008
Socialistworker.co.uk - London,UK
The government grabbed headlines this week by promising to buy up empty homes. But the first phase of this plan will provide funds to buy just 335 homes. ...
Rennie: MoD wasting millions on thousands of empty homes - 21st October 2008
Liberal Democrats - London,UK
9000 MoD houses are standing empty despite a pressing need for decent homes among forces families, ministers have admitted. Figures obtained by Liberal ...
Cancer centre empty for 15 months - 21st October 2008
This is London - London,England,UK
The building, a former chapel near Farnborough originally owned by Bromley Hospitals NHS trust, was bought by property developer Barratts and donated to ...
Famous music venue's final curtain - 21st October 2008
BBC News - UK
Despite a campaign to save it which attracted thousands of supporters, a compulsory purchase order (CPO) for the building, along with 12 others nearby, ...
Empty space highlights speed of downturn - 21st October 2008
Financial Times (subscription) - London,England,UK
By Daniel Thomas, Property Correspondent Opposite Cannon Street station in the City of London is a fast-changing development site surrounded by boards ...
Government to buy empty houses in bid to beat economic crisis - 20th October 2008
Mirror.co.uk - London,UK
Housing Minister Margaret Beckett will announce the plan to buy from developers who cannot sell their newly built homes. They will be rented to people ...
Government to buy empty houses in bid to beat economic crisis - 20th October 2008
Mirror.co.uk - London,UK
Housing Minister Margaret Beckett will announce the plan to buy from developers who cannot sell their newly built homes. They will be rented to people
More affordable homes in Worcester - 17th October 2008
24dash - Hereford,UK
... to draw up a local lettings policy to ensure that a mix of people from the housing waiting list are given the opportunity to apply for the empty homes. ...
Empty homes anger as needy miss out - 17th October 2008
Hexham Courant - Lake District, United Kingdom
By REBECCA DIXON rebecca.dixon@hexham-courant.co.uk TWO houses in a controversial Slaley development were still standing empty at the official opening ...
Councillor launches town housing survey - 17th October 2008
Ledbury Reporter - UK
The Herefordshire Councillor for Ledbury, Mary Cooper has used listings from the revenues department to highlight where the empty properties are. ...
Plea to fill empty private homes - 17th October 2008
BBC News - UK
Thousands of empty homes in Wales could be used to help alleviate housing need, a homelessness charity has claimed. Shelter Cymru said some 24500 empty ...
Locals repaint the 'eyesore' property next door - 16th October 2008
Times Online - UK
Purfleet House has been empty since it was bought more than eight years ago by Roger Gawn, a property developer who also owns Custom House as well as Melton ...
Mendip's strategic housing service is 'poor', watchdog says - 16th October 2008
24dash - Hereford,UK
Performance in areas such as private sector housing, bringing empty homes back into use and improving energy efficiency do not match the best performing ...
Councils told to revive empty homes - 15th October 2008
Inside Housing - UK
Local authorities in Wales should force private landlords to bring empty homes back into use, a charity has warned. Shelter Cymru says there are around ...
Thieves target empty Neath houses - 15th October 2008
News Wales - Knighton,UK
Landlords of every unoccupied house in Neath Port Talbot are to be given advice on crime prevention after a rise in empty homes being targeted by thieves ...
Home crisis master plan: Council wants empty properties to be used ... 15th October 2008
Halifax Evening Courier - UK
By Michael Peel OWNERS of hundreds of empty homes are being targeted in a bid to slash the housing waiting list. There are well over 3000 empty properties ...
MoD spending millions on empty houses - 15th October 2008
Public Servant Online - Staffordshire,UK
As of 8 October, 9046 SFAs were vacant, of which over 30 per cent had been vacant for a year or longer (2727 homes). Approximately 457 of these homes, ...
Call for tax rise on empty homes - 14th October 2008
Huddersfield Examiner - Huddersfield,UK
While some of these are second homes, half have been unoccupied for over a year and one quarter for more than two years. On Thursday, Calderdale Council’s ...
And now (believe it or not) the GOOD NEWS - from the man who said ... - 12th October 2008
Daily Mail - UK
That is why the Government must get involved now in encouraging housing associations and councils to acquire land or empty property to keep up the supply of ...
Opening time? - 11th October 2008
Huddersfield Examiner - Huddersfield,UK
... has seen numerous false starts and broken promises and many local traders and residents have branded the empty property an embarrassment and an eyesore. ...
Concern over empty homes - 10th October 2008
Hucknall Today - Hucknall,UK
By Denis Robinson CONCERN about a high number of empty houses in Newstead was raised at a meeting of the parish council. Coun Philip Burnham said he could ...
LEYTONSTONE: Huge council property left empty despite housing crisis - 9th October 2008
Epping Forest Guardian - UK
By Claire Hack » A HUGE house has been left empty and abandoned for more than four months - despite a shortage of homes in Waltham Forest. The property in ...
Orbis wins empty property protection contracts worth £500000 - 8th October 2008
24dash - Hereford,UK
Orbis has strengthened its position as the UK’s leader in empty property protection by winning more than £500000 of new business. ...
Council properties sitting empty - 8th October 2008
Lancashire Evening Post - Preston,England,UK
By Chris Visser Unused council-owned buildings worth almost £7m are sitting empty, according to a new report. County Hall revealed it has 17 "surplus ...
Theatre 'could stand empty for 25 years' - 8th October 2008
Lincolnshire Echo - Lincoln,England,UK
Director Chris Moreno has around a quarter of a century left on the lease for the property – and City Hall has no plan in place if he decides to stay. ...
Revamped student housing gets go-ahead for Chester - 7th October 2008
ChesterChronicle.co.uk - Chester,England,UK
She was concerned that empty properties would blight the area. Cllr Hilarie McNae (Con, Upton Grange) was assured by development control manager Fiona ...
Burnley's empty homes blighted by backyard rubbish - 7th October 2008
Lancashire Telegraph - Blackburn,England,UK
By Chris Hopper » SIX hundred empty homes in Burnley have back yards filled with rotting rubbish, it has emerged. And Burnley Council has only three ...
£7m of council buildings sitting empty across Lancashire - 4th October 2008
Preston Citizen - UK
A report to be presented to councillors next week says: “There is no doubt that in the current economic climate sales will be affected, but each property ...
University accommodation: student towns win top marks - 4th October 2008
Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom
I would avoid the empty blocks in city centres where there's an oversupply of newbuild flats, as in Leeds, Manchester, and Liverpool. ...
Council house rots as 14000 more needed - 3rd October 2008
Times-Series - London,UK
Barnet Homes has 140 empty homes across the borough, 83 of which are being prepared for letting with 57 undergoing major repairs. ...
Eyesore turned into family homes - 3rd October 2008
BBC News - UK
Mendip District Council provided the cash to help the owner of 22 Northload Street, Glastonbury develop the site as part of its empty homes initiative. ...
Pushed to the limit - 3rd October 2008
Property Week News - London,England,UK
By Jennifer Rigby On 4 May 2007, Property Week launched its ‘Empty Threat’ campaign against empty rates by showing the effect on Leeds. ...
Optimal Design and Build secures contract for derelict homes revamp - 2nd October 2008
CN plus - London,UK
Optimal Design and Build has won an award for restoring eight derelict homes in Glastonbury through as empty property initiative by Mendip District Council. ...
Why are they still empty? 2ndOctober 2008
Derby Evening Telegraph - Derby,England,UK
Larry Jones, who owns a property in Hartington Street, said: "These houses are still empty – it is absolutely outrageous. This is pouring hard-earned taxes ...
A FACELIFT FOR ALL PROPERTIES 'MADE SENSE' TO UPLIFT THE WHOLE STREET - 2nd October 2008
Derby Evening Telegraph - Derby,England,UK
Derby City Council has an Empty Homes Strategy, which aims to return long-term private sector empty homes to beneficial use. Measures can include empty ...
Barratt sells off homes half-price - 2nd October 2008
The Sun - London,UK
The developer has been left with empty homes as buyers struggle to get mortgages. Now investors who buy five or more apartments in East Yorkshire will be ...
Empty office space in City of London rises by almost 50pc - 1st October 2008
Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom
... ft of office space lying empty. The reserach – by NB Real Estate – paints a gloomy picture of the London commercial property market, ...
New report tackles neighbourhood 'studentification' problem - 1st October 2008
Residential Landlord - Dartford,UK
Cities including Liverpool, Loughborough, Leicester, Nottingham, Southampton and Bristol have reported more empty properties during the summer, ...
September 2008
Birmingham council leader joins empty rates fight - 29th September 2008
Property Week News - London,England,UK
Birmingham Council faces an annual rates bill on empty property of £817153, as revealed in Property Week (19.09.08). Busineses in the city will also be hit ...
Abolition of empty property rate relief crippling business, says ... 29th September 2008
Birmingham Post - Birmingham,West Midlands,UK
He will tell a British Property Federation breakfast meeting on Tuesday that the council pays rates totalling more than £800000 on empty buildings it owns, ...
Derelict, empty council houses are a 'disgrace' 27th September 2008
Cambridge Evening News - Cambridge,England,UK
"The Government is very quick to tell local authorities now that if private homes are empty they should take them over and put people in them. ...
Empty units success sparks grants move - 26th September 2008
expressandstar.com - Wolverhampton,England,UK
In a bid to encourage firms to take over empty properties, councillors set aside the cash to cover some of the costs of starting up. ...
New guidance to help councils tackle 'studentification' of ... 26th September 2008
24dash - Hereford,UK
Cities including Liverpool, Loughborough, Leicester Nottingham, Southampton and Bristol have reported more empty properties during the summer meaning shops, ...
Council starts action over Tesco empty homes - 24th September 2008
Advertiser 24 - Welwyn Garden City,England,UK
TESCO could find itself going head to head with St Albans District Council over empty city-centre houses. The supermarket giant had included the vacant ...
Welsh Lib Dem empty homes strategy key to tackling affordable housing - 24th September 2008
24dash - Hereford,UK
Welsh Lib Dem-led Swansea Council is about to pass the first Empty Dwelling Management Order which would mean that the Council could take over a property ...
Aberdeen City Council scoops top award - 23rd September 2008
Aberdeen City - UK
Aberdeen City Council has won a prestigious award for its work to reduce the number of empty homes in the city. The council was awarded Internal Service ...
'Affordable' and empty homes costing €7.5m - 21st September 2008
Times Online - UK
The AHP held talks recently with industry, financial and government figures to draw up a financing mechanism to attract more eligible property buyers to ...
HOUSING Minister Caroline Flint has told the MEN that empty ... 21st September 2008
Manchester Evening News Blog - Manchester,UK
Ms Flint who was speaking exclusively to the MEN, gave the strongest hint yet that properties across the city could provide social housing for thousands of ...
Council wants detail of empty homes - 20th September 2008
Morpeth Herald - Morpeth,England,UK
By ANDREW COULSON RESIDENTS are being asked to inform the Borough Council of empty homes that it may not have a record of. As revealed in last week's ...
Pennine paste to finger thieves - 18th September 2008
Todmorden Today - Todmorden,England,UK
Jonathan Howarth, Pennine empty properties coordinator, said the tag can be scanned by police to provide a permanent record. ...
Seafront eyesore transformed by Town & Country - 17th September 2008
24dash - Hereford,UK
The property at 77 Eastern Esplanade has been a key target of Thanet District Councils empty properties campaign in recent years, after it became a major ...
Lib Dems: Day Five at-a-glance - 17th September 2008
BBC News - UK
... social landlords to have more powers to borrow against their assets, so that they can buy up more repossessed or empty homes, easing the housing crisis. ...
Hazel Blears may ditch tax on empty property - 16th September 2008
Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom
By Graham Ruddick The Government is expected to hold crisis talks today with senior civil servants over its controversial tax on empty commercial property. ...
What I find incredible is that there are unoccupied houses ... - 15th September 2008
WalesOnline - United Kingdom
... suitable for many families on the waiting list... empty houses should be brought back into use with a fully-funded Wales-wide empty homes strategy, ...
Homeowners in £1.8m handout - 15th September 2008
Liverpool Echo - UK
Cllr Morgan said landlords and owners of empty homes are included because vacant properties often become eyesores. Keep up to date with the news. ...
Lewisham's homeless families rehoused in empty homes - 15th September 2008
24dash - Hereford,UK
Lewisham Council is maximising its success in obtaining Empty Dwelling Management Orders – or EDMO’s - to offer a new home to a family who have been living ...
Bid to tackle empty homes - 14th September 2008
New Post Leader - UK
Castle Morpeth Council has drawn up a Draft Empty Homes Strategy to tackle the nuisance vacant buildings can cause and free up more housing supply. ...
Family forced to live cramped lifestyle - 13th September 2008
Western Morning News - Plymouth,England,UK
"It seems silly that there are empty homes just five minutes around the corner." Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Willie Rennie has now vowed to challenge ...
‘Hardship’ tactic to avoid empty rates - 12th September 2008
Property Week News - London,England,UK
Property owners are also thought to be looking at employing security services companies such as Ad Hoc Property Management to provide tenants for empty ...
New insight into Tees commercial property - 12th September 2008
GazetteLive - Middlesbrough,UK
He welcomed regional development agency One NorthEast's plans to go live with the region's first comprehensive survey of empty commercial property and ...
Housing: UK property auction prices slump 23%, while loans to ... 10th September 2008
guardian.co.uk - UK
Ministers must wake up now and let housing associations and councils buy empty homes for social housing to rent. The feeble government response to the ...
HARLOW: Empty properties boost for council - 9th September 2008
Harlow & Bishop's Stortford The Citizen - Harlow,UK
Empty property management is a key issue for the council and reducing the number of properties standing empty and boosting turnaround times has been ...
Denbighshire's 1800 empty homes - 8th September 2008
News Wales - Knighton,UK
Wendy Barnsley has been given the job of empty homes officer through a partnership between Denbighshire County Council and North Wales Housing Association. ...
Problem Preston homes 'could be seized' - 8th September 2008
Lancashire Evening Post - Preston,England,UK
And grants will be made available to landlords so other run-down empty homes can be renovated to rehouse homeless families. Latest figures show there are ...
La Vie Boheme - 7th September 2008
Guardian Unlimited - Comment is Free – Sun, 07 Sep 2008 15:12
Words matched: empty homes
...buildings they've helped maintain since the early 1980s. But the millions of empty homes around the country can't wait that long, and neither can the...
Council set to approve homes strategy - 7th September 2008
Stourbridge News - England, UK
The council’s empty homes strategy is set to be approved by the cabinet on Wednesday September 10. Developed through research and consultation with partners ...
Housebuilders 'in denial' as new-home prices rise and buyers stay away
Independent - London,England,UK
But the reluctance to reduce prices in line with the rest of the market means developers' sales have halved since last year, with homes standing empty and a ...
Town estate could have 300 empty homes - 4th September 2008
Newmarket Journal - Newmarket,England,UK
A spokeswoman for Forest Heath Council said: "We are conscious of a number of empty homes and we are working with the agencies involved to try to make sure ...
Reaction to new housing measures - 3rd September 2008
Harlow Herald 24 - Stevenage,England,UK
Peter Bolton King, chief executive of The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), the residential sales arm of the National Federation of Property ...
Chancellor's plans not enough to revive housing market - 2nd September 2008
Birmingham Post - Birmingham,West Midlands,UK
I would strongly urge you to reverse your decision to impose business rates on empty premises. 4. Efforts by Government to help the Property and ...
Housing plan is little more than sticking plaster - 2nd September 2008
Socialistworker.co.uk - London,UK
The government has hinted that local councils may also be enabled to buy empty homes, although they haven’t yet said where the money will come from. ...
Housing Rescue Doomed To Fail - 2nd September 2008
Motley Fool UK - UK
However, homeowners shouldn’t get their hopes up, because the bail-out kitty is practically empty! 1. Suspend Stamp Duty Land Tax (‘stamp duty’) on ...
Crunch time for a PM in need of some big ideas - 2nd September 2008
WalesOnline - United Kingdom
Plans to allow councils to buy up empty homes and those at risk of repossession are sensible enough, but neither Whitehall, the Assembly Government nor ...
More action is needed - 1st September 2008
Director of Finance online - UK
Bring empty homes back into use The UK’s 600000 empty homes should be brought back into use by reducing VAT on repair and maintenance and giving local ...
Government urged to revive housing market - 1st September 2008
Independent - London,England,UK
The government needs to kick start the housing market with a packages of rescue measures and reforms, property professionals said today. ...