Lib Dems plan to bring a quarter of a million homes back into use

5.50.00pm GMT Thu 14th Jan 2010

There are probably 1500 empty homes in Wantage and Didcot constituency

The Liberal Democrats today set out plans to bring a quarter of a million empty homes back into use, making homes available for people on council waiting lists. There are over 760,000 empty properties across England which are no longer used as homes but can be brought back into use with some investment. People who own these homes will get a grant or a cheap loan to renovate them so they can be used: grants if the home is for social housing, loans for private use.

The number of empty homes in the areas covered by South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils totalled almost 3900 in October 2008. There are therefore probably 1500 empty across Wantage and Didcot constituency.

The plans form part of the economic stimulus package outlined as a core principle of the Liberal Democrat election manifesto. In the first year of the new Parliament, the party would redirect over £3.6bn of spending to create jobs and build up Britain's infrastructure. In the following years this money will be redirected to other Lib Dem spending priorities and to reducing the structural deficit.

Commenting, local spokesman for the Lib Dems, Alan Armitage, said: "Allowing thousands of houses to sit empty while millions of families have been waiting years for a home is shameful. These plans are an example of where Liberal Democrat priorities lie: creating jobs and providing more family homes. The cost of bringing these homes back into use is just a fraction of the cost of building them from scratch, yet the Government is sitting idly by while they fall into disrepair."

The plan was announced today by Party Leader Nick Clegg as one part of the Lib Dems; economic stimulus package that will generate jobs and help Britain on its way to building a fair, sustainable economy.