SIR - By any measure 4,000 wasted homes in a city the size of Bradford is too many – it’s not far off two per cent, or one in every 50 homes in the city - more than double the national average.
There are currently over 600,000 empty homes in England and over 205,000 are considered long term empty. Voters understandably ask, ‘How can we have a national housing crisis, huge council house waiting lists, and leave hundreds of thousands of homes empty?’
At Empty Homes we campaign for government to support local action so that these homes can be used to house those most in need and reduce homelessness. We know that the return on investment when an empty home is brought back into use is a good deal for the investor, the residents who get to live there and critically for the neighbourhood.
Councils rightly cite limited powers, the private ownership of many empty homes, and other obstacles, as your article reports. But we believe that action is still possible, and it is time to end the waste of empty homes and stand ready to work with all those who agree with us.
Chris Bailey, Campaign Manager Empty Homes campaign emptyhomes.com, Pentonville Road, London
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