Thousands of homes ‘left empty’
THOUSANDS of empty proper- ties in the South East should be used to ease the problems of familieswaiting for social hous- ing, it has been claimed. Research by the campaigning
trades union GMB found there were almost 100,000 empty prop- erties in the region – of which 1,583 are inMaidstone and 1,016 in Tonbridge and Malling. There were 99,569 vacant dwellings in 67 areas in the South East region in October 2011 – 2.7% of all dwellings in the region. In England as a whole there
were 719,999 empty properties – 3.2% of the total stock.
Garage scheme MATTHEW Baker’s plan to con- vert a garage into a three-bed- room home at Bishops, Avery Lane, Otham, has been refused. Maidstone Council’s decision
notice said the proposal,which included the demolition of a stable block, “would result in consolidation of existing spo- radic development in the coun- tryside and would thus be harmful to the character and appearance of the rural area.” It added: “The conversion
and extension of this modern building would not enhance or preserve the historic character and setting of Bishops.”
However, the South East is far
from being the worst offender, being placed eighth out of the nine English regions for the per- centage of vacant dwellings. But Paul Maloney, GMB re- gional secretary, said: “That there are 99,569 empty dwellings in the South East at a time when there is acute pres- sure on the housing market sig- nals that there are not enough penalties against leaving a prop- erty vacant.” The worst offender was Thanet,with 5.3% of properties empty, followed by Hastings with 4.4%. Medway was in ninth place with 3.4% empty.
COUNCILLORS from both Maidstone and Kent lined the funeral route as they said good- bye to former Mayor of Maid- stone Cllr Malcolm Robertson. All Saints’ Church, in Mill Street, was packed for a thanksgiving service for the leading LibDem councillor, who died suddenly, aged 67, at his home on August 10. Representatives from dozens
of town organisations attended the service, along with busi- ness leaders and members of the police force.
Maidstone came in at 39th out
of 67 local authorities with 2.4%, with Tonbridge and Malling at 56th, with just 2% of properties empty. Claire Boxall, from Golding Homes, which provides thema- jority of Maidstone’s social housing, said: “It is useful to have this kind of snapshot which shows Maidstone is doing reasonably well. “Like all social housing providers, we work hard to turn around properties quickly. However,we do sometimes have properties vacant if they are in a bad state of repair and need sig- nificant work. A survey carried
Cllr Robertson, whose wife Cynthia is also a borough coun- cillor, rep- resented Allington. Born and bred in the town, he attended Shepway Boys’ School and Oakwood Park tech- nical college before joining the BBC as an engineer.
out now would also show we have a high number of empty properties at ParkWood, as they are waiting to be demolished.” The statistics were compiled
by GMB using the housing flows reconciliation, which is collected annually from all local authori- ties outside London. The number of vacant dwellingswas as of Oc- tober 3, 2011 and included short and long-term empty properties. Ms Boxall added: “The figures
do not reveal how many proper- ties are simply unfit for habita- tion, how many are privately owned and how many owned by social housing companies.”
Popular councillor’s civic farewell He worked for TVS in Maid-
stone before retiring 10 years ago, to devote his time to poli- tics. Tributes were paid to the long-serving councillor by members of his family and his colleagues. His technical background helped him get to grips with the finer points of complex po- litical agendas, while he had a love for the arts – but an even greater love for Maidstone, ac- cording to his brother Gra- hame.
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