ROSSENDALE Council is continuing its efforts to reduce the number of empty homes in the brough.
It wants to reduce empty, unoccupied and disused properties to the regional average by 2020.
There are currently 1,600 empty properties in Rossendale, about 5.5 per cent of the housing stock.
About half of these are longer-term empty properties which are the main cause of problems.
The empty homes are often a target for anti-social behaviour and the strategy will also help to improve the quality of the environment by removing the visual blight.
Shops and local facilities will also benefit through more people in an area using them.
The strategy proposes to use a range of powers to influence the behaviour of property owners and developers.
The main priorities for council intervention will be key "gateways" into the borough, areas with high concentrations of empty properties and properties linked to anti-social behaviour, such as Worsley and Greensclough wards.
Proposed methods include removing council tax subsidies on empty homes and getting approximately 90 properties improved.
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