THE Borders could get an empty homes officer in an attempt to bring vacant properties in the region back into use. Members of Scottish Borders Council will discuss the role, which 22 local authorities in Scotland now have, at the executive committee meeting on Tuesday (April 20). Councillors on the committee will be asked to approve the use of £40,000 to fund the full-time role for 24 months. Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, funded by the Scottish Government, will also contribute £40,000 towards the position for the two years.
READ MORE: A council paper, set to be discussed on Tuesday, states: “The costs of empty homes to the local economy impact on both the community and the council.
Empty homes officer for Borders if council approves funding
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The total now stands at 47,333 – up 16 per cent from 40,963 in 2019.
This is the new kitchen in a home that had lain empty and was brought back into use by YMCA Glenrothes, with support from Fife Council s empty homes officer Joanne Saurin
Fife currently has 2,264 vacant privately owned residential properties on its Empty Homes Register.
As well as identifying uninhabited houses, Ms Saurin tracks down owners to find out why no one lives there and what it would take to bring them back into use.
She offers advice and assistance tailored to each case, helping owners look at their options and work out what is realistic for them – making them aware of the costs of refurbishments and of leaving a property empty.
Crumbling bricks and mortar could be visual legacy of Covid-19, claims project leader
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Crumbling bricks, broken windows and overgrown gardens of empty homes could be a visual legacy of the economic crisis caused by the Covid pandemic if action is not taken to bring more properties back into use.
That’s the warning from the leader of the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, which is a project working with local authorities across the country trying to bring almost 50,000 empty homes back into use.