Make long-term empty properties social housing says councillor
It is revealed that Conwy is home to over 1,000 long-term empty properties.
According to Conwy Council’s local housing strategy, there are 1,194 long-term empty properties and 1,460 second homes in Conwy county.
Llanrwst Councillor, Aaron Wynne, is demanding ‘radical action’ to bring empty properties back into use as a way of relaxing the county’s housing crisis.
Cllr Wynne, said;
“There’s an eye-watering 1,000 long-term empty properties in the county of Conwy. A ridiculously high number.
“Conwy has 891 households in housing need registered for social housing, with 1 in 10 waiting 3 years or longer. We clearly need a new, bold and ambitious plan to make homes accessible to locals.
“I want to see the Council, the Welsh government and Registered Social Landlords work with owners of long-term empty properties to bring these homes back into use, and added into the social rented stock.
“This would be huge undertaking, but as the building of social rented housing has stagnated for the last 20 years or so, we need to reinvent the way we add homes to the social rented stock, as demand continues to spike.
“Returning these long-term empty properties back into use would help relax the housing crisis in Conwy, without the need to build hundreds of expensive, out-of-reach homes on our precious green land.”
