‘Fill up area’s empty houses’

Feb 16 2008 by Barry Gibson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

MORE money should be spent renovating empty homes according to a politician.

Clr Roger Battye wants Kirklees Council to spend £2m on 6,000 empty homes.

The Dalton Lib Dem councillor said: “Last year there were 7,500 families waiting for a council house. The sooner we can make homes available for people to live in the better.”

Kirklees will set its budget on February 27 and Clr Battye wants to increase the amount spent on empty homes from £1m to £2m.

He hopes money can be spent on improving not only local authority housing stock but also many of the empty private houses around the town.

He said: “I hope all councillors will back my call to increase the amount we invest in bringing empty homes back to use.

“Not only do empty houses bring down streets by attracting problems and making places look untidy, they are a waste of good places to live.”