July 29, 2022 - 1454 views
With 686 chargeable long term empty properties in Conwy County, and residents struggling to find affordable homes, Janet Finch-Saunders, Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy, has undertaken a site meeting in Cwm Penmachno with officers from Conwy County Borough Council to discuss the empty home situation across the constituency.
During the site meeting, the Member and officers met with a number of residents and heard of the detrimental impact empties have on the community.
Commenting after her visit, Mrs. Finch-Saunders said: “There are 22,140 long term empty properties in Wales. That’s 22,140 properties that could be homes for people struggling to rent or get on the housing ladder.
“Here in Conwy County, if we could succeed to bring the 686 long term empties back into use as homes, we could potentially reduce the number of people who are having to reside in temporary accommodation.
“I would like to commend the Local Authority officials who met with me. It was clear that they are using the levers at their disposal to try and bring homes back into use. In fact, we saw one property which, thanks to their determination, is now a home.
“A legal loophole enabling owners of empty properties to avoid council tax was brought to my attention. I have now written to the Minister responsible for Housing to highlight the situation”.
