statistics

(Review)

Vacant Dwellinngs in England
The challenges and costs of bringing them back into use

By Maggie Davidson and Kevin White
Published by BRE Trust, 2010,  ISBN 978-1-84806-131-6, A4, 20pp. £26.44 (instant download) or £22.50 (hard copy).

It is very much to the credit of the BRE Trust that they have commissioned this report.  It's the first serious analysis of vacant dwellings since the Department of the Environment report Vacant Dwellings in the Private Sector, published 15 years ago.

This is the text of the NAEPP response to the Guardian special feature on empty homes.  This  appeared on the 14th April 2010 as a "Response" item - this is where a letter-writer is given longer than a normal letter to respond to an earlier story.

Your special report that uncovered almost half a million long-term empty dwellings in the UK highlighted an issue that everyone is concerned about but few seem to have answers for (Policy that locks homeless out of 450,000 vacant properties, 5 April).

These documents are now the final  and apporved versions of the monitoring framework to replace Best Value Performance Indicator 64, having been approved at the NAEPP Executive Meeting of the 24th Febuary 2010. (Earlier versions are available in the Information Library).

Attached below are the guidelines and a template spreadsheet for reporting on the summary statistics.   We will be lobbying for the relevant information to be included in the annual HSSA return to give due recognition to local authority empty homes work.

If you are not a member of NAEPP then you can  give feedback by email to admin@naepp.org.uk or phoning 0844 7365736.

Here is the latest (updated end of October 2009)  version of our proposals for a National Empty Homes Initiative, now including an introductory word from the Empty Homes Agency.   This will be circulated to the press and relevant agencies.