Issue - meetings

Empty Homes Strategy

Meeting: 14/02/2017 - Cabinet (Item 58)

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Hanson)

Report of Chief Officer (Regeneration & Planning)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(Cabinet Members with Special Responsibility Councillors Leytham and Hanson)

Cabinet received a report from the Chief Officer (Regeneration & Planning) to consider an updated Empty Homes Strategy for Lancaster District and the resource implications associated with it.

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred option, were set out in the report as follows:

	Option 1: Approve the revised Empty Homes Strategy including the resource implications	Option 2: Do not approve the revised Empty Homes Strategy
Advantages	Provides framework for the actions of the Council and its partners and promotes co-ordinated, efficient working. Provides certainty to allow longer term planning of actions Sets clear message that tackling empty homes is a council priority. Brings direct and indirect financial benefits together with community benefits	None identified
Disadvantages	Requires dedicated resources that will have some impact on other areas of work.	Empty homes would not be identified as a council priority and would be dealt with on an ad-hoc basis by various council services with potential for confusion and overlap.
Risks	Requires continued commitment from key partners such as Methodist Action	Fewer empty properties would be brought back into use.

Option 1 is preferred due to the importance associated with this area of work. This is an important area of work and a council priority. Approving a revised strategy and providing adequate resources are important steps in delivering this work.

Councillor Leytham proposed, seconded by Councillor Hanson:-

“That the recommendations, as set out in the report, be approved.”

Councillors then voted:-

Resolved unanimously:

(1) That Cabinet approves the revised Empty Homes Strategy as the basis for the Council’s actions in terms of bringing empty properties back into beneficial use.

(2) That Cabinet notes the resource implications set out in the report.

Officer responsible for effecting the decision:

Chief Officer (Regeneration & Planning)

Reasons for making the decision:

Bringing empty properties back into beneficial use contributes directly to the Council’s health and wellbeing priority by improving the supply and quality of the district’s housing. It also contributes to the clean, green and safe priority by reducing the potential for anti-social behaviour and to the economic growth priority by improving confidence in an area for investment.