Minister to reveal empty homes fund
A government minister is expected to announce a fund for communities to bring empty homes back into use today.
Bidding for this year’s allocation from the £100 million Empty Homes Fund closed yesterday for registered housing providers, but Andrew Stunell, communities minister, will announce later today that some of the money will be available for community groups.
The Community Grant Programme will not require groups to become a registered provider. It is thought that between 10 and 30 per cent of the £100 million, which is allocated over three years, will go to community groups.
The bidding is expected to be run until the end of March, with the final pot being allocated according to demand. It is thought that bids offering training and employment opportunities for local communities and community benefit will be viewed favourably.
According to campaign group Empty Homes, there are 720,00 empty properties in England.
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Readers' comments (1)
F451 | 24/01/2012 9:54 am
The pre-warning of an announcement to re-announce the announcement that has been announced several times previously is news for what reason, and is Stunnell now filling in for the shamed and growingly discredited Shapps?
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