More than 6,000 empty homes and commercial premises in England will be refurbished and brought back into use thanks to £91 million of government funds.
The Communities and Local Government department announced towns across England will benefit from the cash injection, particularly in the midlands and north where the problem is most acute.
The funding is aimed at refurbishment in areas where empty properties have led to problems which are driving remaining residents away such as squatting, rat infestation and collapsing house prices.
‘This will bring people, shops and jobs back to once abandoned areas, and provide extra affordable homes we so badly need,’ said Don Foster, communities minister.
The empty homes funding programme will provide £61 million of the total to successful bidders from areas across England, not including London.
The Homes and Communities Agency will allocate £41 million of this to housing associations and the remaining money to community and voluntary groups.
Together the 187 successful organisations will bring around 3,200 extra homes back into use, the CLG said.
‘We had a very encouraging response to the funding across a wide range of types of property,’ said Andy Rose, HCA chief executive. ‘This demonstrates a strong appetite and scope for bringing empty homes and properties back into use, which will help to reinvigorate our communities and towns,’ he added.
Meanwhile, £30 million will come from the clusters of empty homes programme for areas with acute problems such as Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Middlesbrough, it added, bringing 3,500 homes back into use.
A further announcement on a new tranche of funding for London under the empty homes programme will be made soon, the CLG said.