National Week Of Action
National Week Of Action - 23rd - 29th November 2008
National Empty Homes Agency Conference - 27th November 2008
The Empty Homes Agency in partnership with Chartered Institute Of Housing (CIH) will be holding their annual National Conference on the 27th November in Central London. The conference agenda will focus on the importance of bringing empty homes back into use in an ailing housing market
- To view the conference programme pdf please click here
- To view as HTML web page please click here
- To book your place please email Shashi Ioannides at shashi.ioannides@emptyhomes.com or call on 020 7022 1870
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What else is going on?
- Click here to view the NWOA Press Briefing with details of all the events going on around the country
- Click here to read the Empty Homes Agency NWOA press release
National Week Of Action 2007 - 3rd - 7th December 2007
Empty Homes Agency Press Release - Empty Homes Agency National Week Of Action 2007!
Who else is invloved in the National Week Of Action ...
The “No Use Empty” initiative led by Kent County Council has in just two years returned 10% of the 3000 empty homes in East Kent into use. A combination of advice and support for owners of empty homes and funding from the county council is achieving impressive results. For more please contact Susan Pledger or Richard Stocks on 020 7269 9355
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Canopy Housing Project in Leeds is helping homeless young people renovate empty council houses. Working with volunteers the young people learn building skills and then benefit by being offered a tenancy in the completed homes.
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In Lewisham the council has a programme of targeting long-term empty homes and bringing them into use using the new Empty Dwelling Management Order powers. For more information please contact Nick Long at Lewisham.
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In Manchester a well organised and targeted programme of enforcement by the city council has led to hundreds of derelict and long term homes owned by slum landlords being returned to use. For more information please contact Dave Stott at Manchester City Council.
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A new initiative in Essex “PLACE” provides grants for repairs to run down empty homes to enable them to be used as affordable housing. For more information please contact Sally Devine on 01992 564149
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As part of National Empty Property Week, North Somerset Council is encouraging people to take action. Homeowners are being asked to bring their properties ...more>>
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Plymouth City Council will be highlighting a range of projects designed to maximise the use of previously empty private sector buildings during National Empty Homes Week of Action.
Over the last 10 years more than 1,000 empty private buildings have been brought back into use by the Council’s Empty Homes Team...more>>
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The message of USE IT OR LOSE IT is loud and clear on the back of 150 buses travelling throughout the boroughs in north London throughout December. The North London Sub-Region wants to raise awareness about the assistance available to empty property owners - in particular grants and a new repairs service. However, at the same time, they want to emphasise that owners who refuse to use their empty property, despite all the assistance and help that is available, are liable to enforcement action. Several boroughs in the north London sub-region have recently resolved to make compulsory purchase orders – with more on the way.
The sub-region has introduced several new initiatives to help owners access help and information, including a freephone number and a website (www.nlep.co.uk). Grants are available grants to owners who let their property to people in housing need, and to existing owners and first time buyers who will use an empty property as their primary home. They have also introduced a new empty property improvement service to assist owners to carry out necessary repairs in association with Pathmeads Housing Association.
Details of all schemes are available at www.nlep.co.uk
But there is still lots to be done....check out these case studies...
79 houses on the North Circular Road in North London have lain empty since the 1970s. The houses were part of a mass compulsory purchase of more than 400 houses that were acquired by the government 35 years ago to make way for a road widening scheme that never happened. Many of the houses have been vandalised and set on fire. In addition to the empty homes, there are acres of empty land where houses have been demolished. Responsibility for the houses now lies with Transport for London.
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Six large Victorian villas facing Newsham Park in Liverpool were purchased by the city council in 2000 but have been left empty and unmanaged. They have deteriorated to a shocking extent with looting of architectural features and arson. The properties were the subject of PROD (Public Request Order for Disposal) to the then secretary of state Ruth Kelly, who agreed to force the council to sell the properties if they did not deal with them within a year. The year is now up, nothing has happened but the government appear reluctant to act.
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A development of five family houses on the canal in a village in Northamptonshire built in 2000. Owing to a dispute between the landowner and the developer four of the houses have never been lived in.
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Eight large family houses on the edge of the Harwell business park in Oxfordshire have been empty since 2004. Owned by the UKAEA (the government’s atomic energy agency). The properties are due for demolition because nobody can find a use for them.
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A large detached family house and three two-bedroom cottages owned by the NHS adjacent to the Springfield Hospital site in Wandsworth. The houses have been empty for more than 10 years and have deteriorated to a near-derelict state. There are vague plans about a redevelopment on the adjacent golf course that have prevented anybody making use or maintaining the properties.
National Week Of Action 2006
Empty Homes Agency National Week Of Action 2006 Press Release
Government Backpedals On Empty Homes
Some of the events planned for the week....
Here's a quick brief on the activities of Herts, Beds and Buck and also for London Commuter Belt Empty homes groups
7 Authorities within the Herts, Beds and Bucks Empty Homes Forum will be taking a roadshow to key towns within their areas talking to members of the public about the issues of empty homes and how they can be addressed.
Several of the Authorities within the newly formed London Commuter Belt Empty Homes Forum are running a poster campaign to raise awareness of empty homes, together with a hotline number to put people in touch with their empty homes officer. To view the poster campaign click here
Leicester City Council are holding an open day which has been advertised in Link, a council newspaper delivered to every home in the city.
To see a copy of the ad click here
To ensure maximum publicity, we are writing to every empty property owner in our active caseload to invite them to the event.
In addition, a newsletter will be distributed in the Swainson Road Home Improvement Area and it will include an invitation to all residents to come and find out about decent homes for vulnerable people.
Another empty homes success for London Borough of Lewisham!
Two large empty houses, previously used as a house in multi -occupation have been converted into 8 modern self-contained flats this the help of an empty homes grant!
Catford Hill SE6
Nick Long, Empty Property Officer, Lewisham - (m) 077306 37187
To view their press release click here
To see what's happening across the country click on the press releases below:
Amber Valley - Three year wait to move ino Swanwick home finally over
Birmingham - Bid to tackle Birmingham empty property
Exeter - Getting Exeter's empty homes back into use
Great Yarmouth - Empty homes a put off to punters
North London Sub Region - £25K to first-time buyers -
Manchester - Help sought to rid city of empty homes blight
Medway - Medway moves in on problem of empty homes
Sunderland - Bid to tackle Wearside empty homes shame
Halifax Research: Nearly 300,000 Homes Empty For More Than Six Months
This is the third Halifax survey of Empty Homes in England. An empty home is defined as a property, which has remained vacant for more than six months. The Empty Homes National Week of Action runs from October 23rd to October 27th 2006. The research in this report is based on data from the Department for Communities & Local Government (DCLG), the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Halifax's own extensive housing database.
National Week Of Action 2005
National Week will include :
5th October 2005 - BBC2 series 'How to Rescue a House' to which
david Ireland from the Agency has acted as the official advisor.
5th October 2005 - New
Publication: ' How To Rescue A House' - Many
of us long to build our own house from scratch. But instead of building
a new house, why not rescue an old one? Written
by our Local Authority Adviser David Ireland...an expert
in home restoration and adviser to the major new BBC TV series,
'How to Rescue a House' is a wonderfully practical and commonsense
guide to bringing a neglected property - whether abandoned, derelict,
or just in need of some tender loving care - back to its former
glory. This radical approach to home improvement covers everything
you need to help you on your way.
18th October 2005 - There will also be a major event
in Birmingham which will highlight the work that Birmingham
City Council is doing on empty property as well as its involvement
in the new empty property website - www.empro.co.uk
TBC - Also during the week, the Empty Homes Agency will be
publishing a common lease available for local authorities and Registered
Social Landlords. This common lease has come out of joint collaborative
work with the Council for Mortgage Lenders and Devonshires Solicitors
producing a blueprint document that will make it easy for local
authorities and RSLs to bring private property back into use to
meet housing need.
National Week Of Action 2004- 24th to 28th May 2004
Did you know that are over 700,000 empty homes across England? And that 80% of these empty homes are privately owned? And this is at a time of huge need for affordable housing. Furthermore because of the problems of crime and disrepair, empty homes can devalue neighbouring homes by as much as 18% (Hometrack survey June 2003).
But
don't be depressed - if you think this state of affairs is unacceptable
we'd like you to get involved in our national week of action.
Across the country, the Empty Homes Agency, an independent campaigning
charity, works with local authorities to ensure that empty homes
are brought back into use. But with so many political priorities
we need to take action to see that empty homes features high on
local agendas.
24th May - London Borough of Islington - Empty Homes Awareness - Report those empties! With so much help on offer in Islington to get your empty property back into use, you've got no excuse Call Dave Payison now to report a property in Islington - 0800 953 6305 or email
26th May - London Borough of Lewisham - Bringing a long standing empty property back into use to house key workers and homeless families - Contact Nick Long on 0208 314 8381 for further details.
24th - 28th May - South Bedfordshire District Council - For the National Week of Action the Housing Improvement Officers of the Private Sector Housing Team are travelling around the district and speaking to neighbours and owners of long term empty properties. Posters have been placed in local estate agents, leasing agents and libraries asking anybody who knows of an empty property to contact us. All properties under investigation and any reported this week are having signs placed on the properties informing people the property has been reported and action is being taken to bring property back into residential use. If people wish to report an empty property or if they require advice and assistance to bring the property back into residential use;Call - 01582 474064 or email
If you want any more information on empty homes please check out our press section or e-mail us on info@emptyhomes.com or give us a ring on 020 7828 6288.