Pauline Latham
Main Page: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Stephen Williams
One of the areas I was really pleased to find that I had responsibility for when I took up this post was neighbourhood planning, because my own constituency has made good use of it. The residents of Chalfont St Peter should be congratulated on embarking on this process. I am sure that any assistance that the Department can give and any guidance that is available will lend a hand.
Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)
6. What steps his Department is taking to bring empty and redundant buildings back into use.
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr Eric Pickles)
With the new homes bonus we provide £235 million in grant and £130 million to local authorities for homes brought back into use. We have revised and are further reviewing permitted development rights. Since 2010, over 40,000 homes that were long-term empty have been brought back into use.
Pauline Latham
Does my right hon. Friend agree that bringing empty homes back into use is important not only as a sustainable way of increasing the local housing supply but because it can alleviate the negative impact that neglected empty homes can have on communities in constituencies like mine and similar areas?
Mr Pickles
My hon. Friend makes a very reasonable point. Derbyshire has benefited from £600,000 of empty homes funding, and I am sure that that will make quite a difference to her constituency. The substantive point is that this not only gets housing back into stock but means that streets and communities are not blighted. It is a win-win for just about everybody.