WALT Meadows has got hold of the wrong end of the stick when criticising my attitude towards empty homes (Letters, October 17).

Charging double council tax on long-term empty homes was just one of the ideas in my letter to the select committee looking into the problem.

Other ideas I put forward included reduced council tax, block grants, easier compulsory purchase rules and clearance of the worst properties.

Mr Meadows' idea of 'pepper pot' individual grants has been tried in the past, but rejected by the current and previous government in favour of 'area renewal,' as seen in the former City Challenge area and now in the Johnston Street/Devonport Road area of Blackburn.

Many of the privately-owned empty terrace houses have been empty for many years. Often, the owners do not live locally -- indeed, I have dealt with cases where owners lived as far afield as the Channel Isles, Canada, USA, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Some of these owners are not interested in selling or renovating their homes, and, frankly, are not interested if their homes become a source of misery for their neighbours.

Because the owners are not local they often do not know or care if their homes are vandalised and become a scar on the neighbourhood.

New ideas are needed to tackle these problems -- I hope Mr Meadows has written to the select committee with his thoughts.

COUNCILLOR DAVE SMITH (Sunnyhurst Ward), Avondale Road, Darwen.