A PRESSURE group is calling for builders to put a brake on new houses in East Lancashire - because there are already too many empty homes.

The Council for the Protection of Rural England wants the Government to take into account the rise in empty properties when deciding on future house-building needs,

New figures published by the Empty Homes Agency reveal that in 1999, Burnley had 3,978 empty homes - an increase of 33.6 per cent on the previous year.

That was the third highest figure for North West local authorities, behind Salford and Warrington. Hyndburn was eighth with 2,554, an increase of 15.9 per cent, and Rossendale was 14th with 1,024 - a rise of 9.2 per cent.

The CPRE says that Government projections show 297,000 new households will need to be accommodated in the North West by 2021.

Jonathan Sear, CPRE's North West policy officer, said: "Unless the release of sites for new housing is carefully monitored and managed in response to things like the number of empty homes, we will end up with development sprawling unnecessarily across our countryside, while our urban areas become less and less attractive places to live."

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