Nigel Adams
Main Page: Nigel Adams (Conservative - Selby and Ainsty)
Mr Prisk
Again, my hon. Friend is right in what he says. We must be careful about assuming that online retailing is wholly negative for town centres, as it can be a great opportunity. That is why we have asked the Post Office to be part of the future high streets forum; it has a tremendous retailing network and we want to tap into that expertise.
Nigel Adams (Selby and Ainsty) (Con)
13. What steps his Department is taking to support the reuse of brownfield land and empty buildings. [R]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr Don Foster)
We are investing £235 million to bring back more than 15,000 empty properties into residential use and we have made it easier to convert empty offices into homes. As a result of those and other measures, there are over 40,000 fewer long-term empty homes than there were when the coalition Government formed.
Nigel Adams
I thank the Minister for that answer. A small number of commercial buildings in the town centres of Selby and Tadcaster have been unoccupied for several years. What are the Government doing to help the local residents and councils to bring those buildings back into use?
Mr Foster
I am grateful for the work that my hon. Friend is doing to encourage bringing empty properties back into use. I am sure that he will be delighted with the changes to permitted development that we announced very recently. They will make it much easier for what he wants to be achieved.