Published Wednesday 17 February 2021 at 13:06
Success during National Empty Homes Week 2021 for Blackburn with Darwen.
The Council have recently taken possession of two long-term empty homes that are both in serious disrepair.
Compulsory purchase orders (CPO’s) have been issued to obtain the properties, which are now back on the market for buyers who can demonstrate their ability to fully refurbish and reoccupy them as family homes.
21 Ulverston Close, Blackburn.
17 Tewkesbury Street Blackburn
One of the homes, located on Tewkesbury Street, has stood empty for over 15 years and is severely water damaged due to years of neglect. The other, found on Ulverston Close, is boarded up and will only be sold to a buyer who can reoccupy within an agreed time period.
Issuing these CPO’s is the latest success for the empty properties team, who work to bring empty homes back into use, just in time for Empty Homes Week (15-21 February) – a national campaign to raise awareness of the problem and provide local advice and assistance. To date, the team have successfully acquired 23 properties by way of CPO, 17 of which have been fully refurbished and reoccupied so far.
Councillor Phil Riley, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration, said:
Empty properties attract vandalism, fly-tipping and other anti-social behaviour, having a negative impact on the surrounding community. It remains a major priority for us to tackle this and restore the properties so they are no longer a concern for the neighbourhood, but instead a positive feature.
Even during the pandemic, the empty properties team have been working to solve this issue and helping to provide decent accommodation across the borough.
For further information about the properties or if you would like to report a problematic empty property in your area, contact the empty properties team at emptyproperties@blackburn.gov.uk or 01254 585213.