Three hundred and seventy five new homes will be created in Wycombe over the next four years if a housing association scheme gets planning consent.

A spokesman for Red Kite, Wycombe District Council’s main provider of homes for the public sector, told the Bucks Free Press this week: “Our biggest development will be in the Castlefield area where we intend to replace 97 existing homes with 184 brand new ones. 

“The homes will mainly be a mix of one and two bedroom apartments each with a balcony or garden. We are also proposing to provide a small number of three bedroom homes with private gardens.”

The scheme will be split over two sites – Pettifer Way and Longland Way on the north side and Chairborough Road on the south.

The spokesman said the majority will be for housing association tenants but some will be for outright sale and also shared ownership. 

“This mix will help regenerate the area and provide affordable options for those people who have aspirations to own their own homes.” 

According to newly released government figures, one in every 46 homes was empty across Wycombe District Council’s catchment area at last count by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. 

One thousand five hundred and sixty seven homes were unoccupied in October 2017 when the latest figures were collated.

Of these 482 were classed as long term vacancies meaning no-one had lived in them for at least six months. 

In response to a Free Press request to know what action is being taken to reduce the number of empty homes, a statement from Wycombe District Council said the figures need to be assessed in the context “of the many and varied reasons why a property may or may not be considered ‘empty’.

“These are, but are not limited to, second homes, death intestate, long-term hospital admissions, mental impairment, imprisonment, long-term holidays, respite care, rehab and home renovations.

“The average number of empty homes in the report is 1,430 over the past 14 years with a high of 1,677 in 2009 and 1,622 in 2010. 

“If you take off the number of homes estimated to be owned by the Registered Providers [housing associations] this reduces the number much closer to the average.

“Longer term empty properties are few in the district. We monitor the number of empty homes and will take action if required. In the last year we have brought 11 homes back into use – one a month – and [we] are also working with our registered provider partners for those homes which are subject to long-term redevelopments, for example some of the former sheltered housing schemes.”

Stats released by the council showed there were 991 households on the council housing list at the end of March this year.

Out of those, 368 households were waiting for a one bedroom home (37 per cent of the total), 290 (29 per cent) for a two-bed, 294 (30 per cent) for a three-bed and 39 (4 per cent) were waiting for a four bedroom house.

Red Kite owns and manages 6,700 properties across the district. 
A statement from the association’s HQ on the Kingsmead Business Park emphasised: “Our priority is to make sure our properties are available for use by local people and therefore we do not leave homes empty unnecessarily.

“We currently have 178 homes which have been decommissioned on one of our sites which are awaiting demolition to allow us to build new more modern homes.

“Where possible and safe we rent these properties on a temporary basis to local property guardians who provide community volunteer work while we are waiting for planning permission to be granted.

“We also have seven homes which we are converting from bed-sits where there is little requirement into one-bedroom flats to provide much needed housing of this type.

“A home that is empty because the previous tenant has ended their tenancy is let as quickly as possible. However sometimes the home may need major works if it has been damaged by fire or burst pipes.

“Properties can appear empty to neighbours but it may be that the tenant is in hospital or another legitimate reason why it appears unoccupied. We do investigate in these cases and we follow strict guidelines when a home is empty but the rent is still being paid. In cases where there is no legitimate reason we always undertake repossession where appropriate.” 

The Prime Minister told a national planning conference in March the government was “rewriting the rules on planning” to help developers and local authorities build more homes to restore the dream of home ownership. 

Theresa May promised her administration would cut red tape to streamline the planning process.

She admitted: “In much of the country housing is so unaffordable that millions of people who would reasonably to expect to buy their own home are unable to do so.

“I vividly remember the first home I shared with my husband, Philip,” she said, “not only our pictures on the walls and our books on the shelves but the security of knowing we couldn’t be asked to move on at short notice. And because we had that security, because we had a place to go back to it was that much easier to play an active role in our community.

“That is what this country should be about, not just having a roof over your head but having a stake in your community and its future.”