Council to spend over £2.5 million bringing empty homes back into use

Rhiannon James, local democracy reporter

More than £2.5 million is to be spent on bringing empty homes in Caerphilly County Borough back into use.

Currently there are 1,314 empty private sector homes across the county borough that have been empty for more than six months.

A maximum grant of £25,000 will be given to owners of empty properties. This means approximately 101 empty properties could be brought back into use over the next two years.

Cllr Shayne Cook, council cabinet member for housing, said: “Long-term empty homes are not only a blight on local communities but also represent a wasted resource whilst we are in the midst of a national housing crisis.

“We’re grateful to Welsh Government for this funding allocation and also to my fellow cabinet members for approving the additional money needed to really make a difference in tackling the issue of empty homes in the borough.”

Welsh Government will allocate £2.31 million to the National Empty Home Grant programme. At the cabinet meeting on Wednesday February 22, cabinet members agreed to spend an additional £231,000 on the scheme.

At a housing and regeneration scrutiny committee meeting on Tuesday January 31, councillors were presented the Empty Homes Strategy 2023-28.

The committee was told the council would engage with those with empty homes and enforcement action would be the last resort.

Claire Davies, the council’s private sector housing manager, said homes which have been empty for ten years or more will be targeted first.

Owners of empty properties can call the council on 01443 811378 or email [email protected] for support.