New BBC Wales HQ to be built on Cardiff bus station, Housing fund puts power back in tenants' hands, Regeneration of Newcastle's Co-op building begins. Most people look after their properties but there's an element of those that don't and these are the ones that will cost us thousands of pounds. contact the editor here. 4 bedroom detached house to rent Gardd Eithin, Northop Hall, Flintshire, CH7. Communities and local government secretary Eric Pickles has granted planning permission to a redevelopment of Pinewood Studios that would almost double its capacity. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. Meanwhile Flintshire council will get 750,000 from the Welsh Government to redevelop old and empty properties that are difficult to bring back into use. 2023 BBC. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? Read about our approach to external linking. If you are concerned that a property is empty in your area report it at emptyhomes@shelter.org.uk or phone the Empty Homes Advice Service on 0344 515 1941. Video, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, Explosion derails train in Russian border region, Banana artwork in Seoul museum eaten by visitor, Trump says 'great to be home' on visit to Scotland, NFL player's daughter, aged two, drowns in pool, Indian 'killer' elephant relocated to tiger reserve, Ding becomes China's first male world chess champion. Empty homes are a waste of resource. 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Flintshire Council's Cabinet will meet on Tuesday to discuss a revenue budget monitoring report for 2022/23. Empty Property Grant & Living Over the Shops (LOTS), APPLY FOR IT: Empty Property Financial Assistance (PDF - 0.1 MB), Works which make a residential property safe warm and/or secure, 1,000 up to 25,000. For owners of 6months plus, surveyed as non-decent vacant residential properties to bring up to lettable standard, to be occupied by Council nominated tenants. Part furnished. A Gannett Company. The reasons include distance from shops, and upstairs flats unsuitable for less mobile elderly tenants. You can apply for a home through your local council. The council said if plans were approved it could settle debts to the council, such as council tax arrears, by putting vacant or run-down properties up for auction. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. In Flintshire, council tax records indicate 888 properties have been empty on a long-term basis or are second homes which could be potentially liable for the premium. Please note you will be required to manage the project yourself, including seeking competitive quotes, arranging an asbestos survey, managing the work on site and ensuring that all the work is completed to your satisfaction and meets any legislative requirements in place.Please note that the loan is discretionary and an offer of a loan cannot be guaranteed until the applicant has received formal notice of approval. The Welsh Government has launched a new Loan scheme offering financial support to owners of private properties. Flintshire County Council retains tenancy rights for the duration of the agreement. The only way the property owner could prevent a sale would be to repay the debt, but the council said the policy would only be used as a last resort after all other avenues had failed. Is climate change killing Australian wine? By viewing our content you are accepting Flintshire County Council's Social Services department Housing Apply for a Council house and find other advice relating to Flintshire County Council's Housing services Jobs and. This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's The Welsh Government has confirmed it will withdraw its detailed policy on planning for sustainable buildings at the end of next month (July). For owners of 6 months plus, vacant residential properties to bring up to lettable standard. Editors' Code of Practice. On completion of the works, the property meets the, Maximum loan of 10,000 subject to eligibility testing and loan assessment, Loan is repaid on sale or transfer or cessation of nomination rights. B Upstairs flats also became unsuitable for elderly tenants over time as they became less mobile, it added. With this policy the council can begin moving forward to address the issue of vacant homes whilst also recovering monies it is owed. C 3 2 OnTheMarket > 14 days Marketed by Anwyl Homes - Summers Bridge 01244 988015 Email agent New build H , The most economically advantageous tenderer, based on price and quality will be allocated work as first choice and this will continue unless the client feels the tenderers financial threshold is exceeded. , The councils cabinet will be asked to agree on the new framework at a meeting tomorrow, Tuesday 17 July. contact IPSO here, 2001-2023. Ms Harkin revealed the 19 empty properties in Glan y Morfa Court were not being offered to potential tenants because bedsits were no longer popular. Work to turn the former Co-operative store in Newcastle into shops, leisure facilities and a hotel in a 17m redevelopment have begun. the use of cookies. 01244 725688. , Flintshire Council paid approximately 2.3m to bring its vacant social houses back to an appropriate standard for new tenants in the last 12 months. This is in the form of an interest free loan to cover works which bring the property up to the Decent Homes Standard. That initiative falls under the Town . Cabinet member for housing, councillor Helen Brown, said: "It is no longer acceptable for properties to remain empty when the need for housing is increasing. "This is due to a combination of more new placements and fewer households moving on. Approximately 70% of current void properties are completed within the target period. Council tax on empty homes and second homes in 2009-2018 Flintshire County Council. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then please , The repairs and maintenance team also utilise these contractors when works are either too large or complex to manage. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. Council set to pull out of managed lettings, Russia launches missile attacks on Ukraine, MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo dies, Air strikes pound Sudan capital as truce extended. Committee chair Cllr Helen Brown said: "We need to protect the investment we put in. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Empty flats could also be used to cut council spending on delayed transfer from care or hospital for people not yet ready to return to their own homes. Applicant is invited to apply by the Council, For use within the Councils strategic Renewal Area, A proportion of the grant must be repaid if the property is sold or transferred within 5 years. F Either staged repayments (monthly, quarterly or yearly) or full repayment at the end of the HIL term or on sale of the property if earlier. FLINTSHIRE has more than 200 empty council properties - even though there's a waiting list of 4,000 people desperate for homes. As a result, there are many challenges and obstacles that arise when completing refurbishment and capital investment works to these older properties. An empty home costs money. An "excessive" number of empty sheltered homes is costing a council nearly a quarter of a million pounds a year in lost rent, officers say. Indian officials wife distraught as his killer is freed. There are 4,000 people on the waiting list and hundreds of families living in temporary accommodation.. It is the responsibility of home owners to maintain their property and to keep it in good order. This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. Kilncraigs, Alloa, Clackmannanshire, FK10 1EBTel: 01259 450000Email: customerservice@clacks.gov.uk. The previous contract arrangement meant the council only had access to one contractor. Council set to pull out of managed lettings, Russia launches missile attacks on Ukraine, Air strikes pound Sudan capital as truce extended, MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo dies. Empty properties. This loan is to help owners bring empty properties back in to use. Property must be covered by buildings insurance until the loan is repaid. If your application is accepted, you'll go on to a waiting list of people who need a council home. Flintshire Council paid approximately 2.3m to bring its vacant social houses back to an appropriate standard for new tenants in the last 12 months . We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? Coun Aaron Shotton, Labour Leader, said: To remove resident wardens and replace them with mobile wardens is a retrograde step that will leave many of our elderly feeling very vulnerable. It doesnt make sense.. In addition to setting out the projected positions and projections for various council departments, the report also sets out a number of risks which are being 'tracked.'. budget, as well as approving a transfer of 200,000 from a contingency reserve to replenish the authority's Winter Maintenance Reserve. Maximum loan per applicant 150,000. Please note that the loan is discretionary and an offer of a loan cannot be guaranteed until the applicant has received formal notice of approval. It means they will not be tied to council-owned warden accommodation, but can live anywhere. An example would be, works to remedy serious disrepair, provide modern kitchen . Please report any comments that break our rules. Ratepayers are footing the bill for the 217 void properties, which are estimated to be losing Flintshire County Council 1.5m in rent a year. A review by Flintshire County Council showed some schemes were not popular. Applying for a Council Tax discount or reduction. D Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event. People are desperate for houses and they can see these properties boarded up for weeks.. Flexible, The Planner Magazine is 2023Redactive Publishing Limited. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. The report projects how the authority's budget would stand at the close of the financial year, without new actions to reduce cost pressures and/or improve the financial return on efficiency planning and cost control. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can Did this woman die because her genitals were cut? It also had 340 long term chargeable empty homes, down on last year's figure of 433. An "excessive" number of empty sheltered homes is costing a council nearly a quarter of a million pounds a year in lost rent, officers say. Flintshire Council has more than 2,600 sheltered homes, which account for more than a third of its total housing stock . Is climate change killing Australian wine? Including the cost of Council Tax, security boarding and potential lost rent, it is estimated that it costs around 7,000 a year to leave a home empty. Launched in 2014, Deeside.com is an independent online news and information website. The report states: "Although, there is continued support via the new Homelessness No One Left Out grant, with a further allocation of 0.256m being confirmed recently, this still falls well below the amount of support the council received via the Hardship Fund in 2020/21 and 2021/22. Sheltered housing in remote areas suffered from limited access to shops, especially with the closure of local convenience stores, the report said, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Bedsits were also "generally unpopular" with older tenants and tended to be used as short-term accommodation. The Scottish Empty Homes Partnership exists to help bring private sector empty homes back into use. Properties, including houses on the Holway estate, Holywell, and bedsits in sheltered housing complex Glan y Morfa Court, Connahs Quay, have been identified by the council as practically impossible to let. The authority's housing revenue account however forecasts an expenditire of 3.1m higher than was budgeted for. Applicant must have sufficient equity within their property to cover the loan amount/or offer a different property with sufficient equity for security, Applicants property must be long term vacant (over 6 months), Property must be tenanted until the loan is released or sold, On completion of the works, the property must be habitable and of a lettable standard (no, Property must be covered by buildings insurance until the loan is repaid, Maximum loan of 35,000 subject to eligibility testing and loan assessment, The Council holds a share of the property value, to the cost of the works, Loan is repaid on sale or transfer (maximum loan term is 2 years for sale and 5 years for rent), Voluntary early repayment may be made at any time. The report will be discussed by members of the council's community, housing and assets scrutiny committee at a virtual meeting on Wednesday (November 4, 2020). Furthermore, the report also urges councillors to reduce the age of eligibility for sheltered housing from 60 to 55, in line with local housing associations. Councillors voted unanimously in favour of the recommendations put forward toaddressthe challenges identified within the Voids Action Plan. 4. O This is in the form of an interest free loan to cover works which bring the property up to the Decent Homes Standard. synonyms. Cllr Attridge said: The people being let down are the people we represent, the tenants.. As well as that, the longer a property is empty the less valuable it becomes. Questions were raised over whether or not more regular inspections needed to be carried out in order to ensure that any damage done by tenants was kept to a minimum. Head of housing Maureen Harkin said the problems were down to a number of factors, including inconsistent management and poor productivity. Interested applicants should complete an Expression of Interest Form - please download the form below. If you are concerned that a property is empty in your area report it at emptyhomes@shelter.org.uk or phone the Empty Homes Advice Service on 0344 515 1941. Some flats become unsuitable as tenants grow older, the report said. S The concern has been raised after the number of households across Flintshire which needed temporary accommodation more than doubled over three months. Buying an empty home. , Currently up to 500 of its 7,200 rental properties become available each year, and the authority is now preparing to put new guidelines in placefor how it selects builders to carry out the improvement works. If a property is empty longer than 6 months, the Council tax payments are affected. T An example would be, works to remedy serious disrepair, provide modern kitchen and bathroom facilities, improve heating systems and insulation, and to remove any serious hazards which could affect the well-being of the occupier, such as dampness, dangerous stairs or electrical wiring. By viewing our content you are accepting Please report any comments that break our rules. Work has begun on a 3.1m redevelopment of Aberystwyth railway station in Mid Wales. Natural Resources Wales: Mr Williams said: Just think about the rent they have lost. Maximum loan of 10,000 subject to eligibility testing and loan assessment. Sign up to our free newsletter for the top North Wales stories sent straight to your e-mail. I know of four people who have tried to rent it and two people who tried to buy it. contact the editor here. This is in the form of an interest free loan to cover works which bring the property up to the Decent Homes Standard. Flintshire claims it is one of the first authorities in Wales to have a person working solely on turning around empty homes using money specifically set aside to renovate dilapidated properties. We use cookies to improve your experience. Minimum loan of 500. More than 2m has been spent on bringing empty council homes in Flintshire back into use last year. I landlords, owner occupiers who pass affordability checks. The fund, made available to Councils in Wales, enables the Council to provide short to medium term loans to owners of sub-standard properties who pass affordability criteria and who are restricted by other sources of finance. This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. Sign up to our free newsletter for the top North Wales stories sent straight to your e-mail. These applicants are not subject to the conditions relating to the management of the property by a social lettings agency, FCC retaining tenancy rights and the requirement to become an accredited landlord. The Council's Empty Homes Strategy involves working with other appropriate agencies and demonstrates the Council's commitment to improve this problem. Lambeth has a fantastic variety of areas, stretching from prominent riverside locations in the north such as Waterloo/South Bank and Vauxhall Flintshire has approximately 500 long term empty properties; the Empty Property Grant is a loan to help owners bring empty properties back in to use. The Voids Action Plan was discussed during theCommunity andHousing Overview andScrutiny Committee meeting held on Wednesday, March 8. , The council experiences 400-500 void properties per year and, overall, the cost of bringing these back into a lettable standard equates to approximately 2,300,000 per year. But the new proposal has already come under fire from Labour opposition on Flintshire, who have pledged to fight it. Nearest school 0.6mi. VideoThe secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, LGBT troops take love for Eurovision to front line. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can 2. One of these, headed 'homelessness', explains there is a risk due to the cessation of funding from the Welsh Government COVID-19 hardship fund at the end of 2021/22. The Housing and Assets Service housing stock consists of around 7,300 properties. Council holds share of property to be repaid on sale or transfer within 2-5 years. Flintshire has approximately 500 long term empty properties; the Empty Property Grant is a loan to help owners bring empty properties back in to use. Suggested solutions include installing stairlifts, putting in extensive adaptations for people with disabilities, and support to allow residents to do internet shopping. Bid to tackle challenges surrounding empty council houses in Flintshire Dear Mr Evans, I write to acknowledge receipt of your Freedom of Information request which has been given the reference number R013477. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused. Deeside.com Est. We are looking for a motivated planner to join our team to help us make a positive difference to Waless environment Chief housing officer Neal Cockerton said in a report the 2,600 sheltered accommodation properties accounted for just over a third of Flintshire's housing stock. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Wrexham Glyndwr University set to rebrand as Prifysgol Wrecsam/Wrexham University. E The project is funded by the Scottish Government and housed by Shelter Scotland. Lists. The proposal aims to tackle the 469 homes currently empty in the Welsh county. Y Repayment terms to be sorted by administrator on a case-by-case basis as part of affordability checks, Owners of sub-standard residential properties e.g. An example would be, works to remedy serious disrepair, provide modern kitchen and bathroom facilities, improve heating systems and insulation, and to remove any serious hazards which could affect the well-being of the occupier, such as dampness, dangerous stairs or electrical wiring. Flintshire Council headquarters at County Hall, Mold. Figures released by Wrexham Council . Q , Chief officer for housing and assets, Neal Cockerton, said the agreed payment rates are shortly due to lapse and need renewing. Lambeth, London, Grade & Salary: 37,308-40,806 (Grade 6): He said: Many old and vulnerable adults rely on the support and friendship from resident wardens.. This strategy is available at the bottom of this . The Scottish Empty Homes Partnership exists to help bring private sector empty homes back into use. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. inaccuracy or intrusion, then please Some flats become unsuitable as tenants grow older, the report said. 2014, *Stats independent & directly measured by Google, via the Analytics Live API. G Council holds share of property to be repaid on sale or transfer within 2-3 years. READ MORE:Flintshire Council set to reduce pesticide use to support wildlife. The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. This equates. However, there are many reasons why properties become vacant long term and the Council wants to help owners to bring these homes back into use. An example would be, works to remedy serious disrepair, provide modern kitchen and bathroom facilities, improve heating systems and insulation, and to remove any serious hazards which could affect the well-being of the occupier, such as dampness, dangerous stairs or electrical wiring. Council bosses are being asked whether hard-to-let sheltered housing should be adapted to be made more suitable, or offered for use by tenants of any age. K If you send any further correspondence about this request, please include the reference number and either e.mail it to [Flintshire County Council request email], or post it to Freedom of Information, Flintshire County Council, Information Governance, County . This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. London Borough of Lambeth: Principal Planning Officer (Development Management) (672), London Borough of Lambeth: Senior Planning Officer (Development Management)(671), Natural Resources Wales: Specialist Planning Advisor, Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects. Among the warden bungalows which have remained empty is a three bedroom bungalow at Lixwm near Holywell, which has been empty for at least six years. The fund, made available to Councils in Wales, enables the Council to provide short to medium term loans to owners of sub-standard properties who pass affordability criteria and who are restricted by other sources of finance. 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", Sean O'Donnell replied by saying:"This is something that we really want to work hard on over the next few months. Carl Sargeant, AM for Alyn and Deeside, described it as a dereliction of duty. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? The number of empty council houses in Wrexham has risen amid efforts to carry out more extensive repairs, a new report has shown. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. N A review by Flintshire County Council showed some schemes were not popular. An example would be, works to remedy serious disrepair, provide modern kitchen and bathroom facilities, improve heating systems and insulation, and to remove any serious hazards which could affect the well-being of the occupier, such as dampness, dangerous stairs or electrical wiring. On top of the loss, the council is spending 3,500 on bringing each property up to standard.

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