THE number of empty homes in Warrington has been revealed.

The council has also confirmed the number of homes that have been empty for six months or more.

“Out of the 97,315 properties we have on hold, 2,647 of these are empty homes,” said a spokesman.

“1,544 homes have been empty for six months or more.”

The council says its aim is to bring empty properties back into use as quickly as possible so they do not stay empty.

The spokesman added: “To support this work, we employ an empty property officer who regularly inspects empty houses in the borough to check their condition.

“We try to work with owners to bring properties back into use, providing advice on appropriate options such as renovation, rental, or sale.

“We can also assist in finding interested buyers and may offer loans to renovate houses for rental purposes.

“Where owners can’t be persuaded to bring properties back into use, we can consider if any enforcement action is possible.

“Enforcement methods may include serving legal notices requiring works to be undertaken, if this isn’t complied with, we can arrange for work to be done and then recharge the owner. We have previously enforced the sale of a number of empty properties where money was owed to the council.

“However, if an owner repays the money owed prior to the sale, then the enforced sale process stops. We will also always try to work with the owner to bring the property back into use. We also have some other enforcement powers to deal with empty properties such as compulsory purchase orders, but these can only be used in very limited circumstances.”