Nearly 900 homes are standing empty across Pendle, of which more than 200 are in the Colne area, councillors are informed in a new report.

Vacant homes are a waste of resources, can attract anti-social behaviour and spoil the areas where they are located, Pendle Council’s Colne area committee is being told.

The empty homes situation in Pendle is better than wider Lancashire and English averages, the report adds, but a ‘more robust’ and pro-active approach is being sought in Pendle.

Councils have legal powers to buy target properties if needed, and councillors have asked for regular updates about the management of empty homes.

The latest for this month’s Colne committee from a council officer states:  “This year over the borough, the total number of properties that have been empty for more than six months has risen from 871 in April to 883 in October, an increase of 13 properties.

"This represents a vacancy rate of 2.1 per cent. This is significantly below the average for Lancashire at 3.4 per cent and the average for England, which was 2.8 per cent in 2023.

“However there are still some problem areas across the borough. There are currently 204 empty residential properties in the Colne committee area, which represents just under two per cent of the housing stock in local wards.”

According to the Colne area report:

  • In the Boulsworth ward, there are a total 37 empty homes. Of those, 11 have been vacant for more than two years while 26 have been empty for between six months and two years.
  • In Foulridge ward, the total is 11 vacant homes of which nine have been empty for more than two years.
  • In Horsfield, the total is 35 with 20 properties empty for more than two years.
  • Vivary Bridge has 50 vacant homes of which 12 have been empty for more than two years.
  • Waterside has a total of 71 of which 21 have been vacant for more than two years.

While the proportion of vacant houses in the Colne district is below the averages for both Lancashire and England, there are a number of local vacant houses that are considered to be priorities and need action to bring them back into use.

The report adds: “We will be targeting these and, in appropriate cases, be seeking to use compulsory purchase powers to bring them back into use.”

Legal compulsory purchase powers have been used to buy other properties in Pendle, the report adds.

The loss of an empty homes officer from the council’s environmental health department in 2021 has restricted the amount of pro-active work that staff have been able to do, according to the report.

However, the borough’s corporate plan has highlighted the need for a stock condition survey of buildings and focuses on empty properties. A better understanding of the latest position will inform a ‘more robust approach’ to managing empty properties.

Across the country in recent years, councils have been offered financial incentives by Westminster governments to get empty houses back into use or create new homes, under the New Homes Bonus.

Incentives were paid to councils based on council tax income they collected as a result of property conversions, re-occupied houses, repairs, renovations and new-build homes.