SIR - I’m writing to correct some potential misconceptions that may have arisen from the article featured in the T&A on September 21 regarding empty properties in Bradford district.
The headline stated only 13 empty properties were brought back into use last year. This figure is incorrect. In any given year thousands of empty properties are re-occupied while thousands also become empty. Over the last year there was an overall reduction in long-term empty properties of 13. This isn't as many as we’d like, but over the past 10 years there has been a significant reduction of long-term empty properties in the district by over 30per cent.
Our Empty Homes team are working hard with property owners to bring them back into use. At any one time they are dealing with over 1,000 properties directly and in the last year alone played a key role in bringing nearly 100 empty properties back into use.
Empty properties are often a blight on a street and community and we take a range of actions to bring as many as possible back into use. There’s a lot still to do but over the past 10 years real progress has been made.
Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Portfolio Holder, Regeneration, Planning & Transport
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