{"id":500879,"date":"2025-10-15T07:19:23","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T07:19:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/500879\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T07:19:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T07:19:23","slug":"were-not-planning-to-move-but-if-we-wanted-to-we-couldnt-with-that-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/500879\/","title":{"rendered":"‘We\u2019re not planning to move but if we wanted to we couldn\u2019t with that here’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The council is planning to use its powers to buy long-term empty homes.\"AnAn empty house on Crossfield Road in Stockport (Image: Declan Carey)<\/p>\n

People in Stockport are calling for action to sort out the empty homes which are ‘bringing down’ neighbourhoods in the borough.<\/p>\n

John and Pam Matuszczak live on Crossefield Road in Cheadle<\/a> Hulme<\/a>, near a house which they say has been unoccupied for years.<\/p>\n

The empty property appears to be in poor condition, and has been chosen as one of six proposed to be bought by Stockport<\/a> council using compulsory purchase powers.<\/p>\n

Pam Matuszczak said: “It does impact the area, it brings it down, we\u2019re not planning to move but if we wanted to we couldn\u2019t with that here.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A council report stated: \u2018Each of the properties is having a detrimental impact on the environment and amenity of its immediate local area by reason of its dilapidated condition, having been vacant and unoccupied for multiple years.<\/p>\n

\u2018Despite sustained efforts by the council over a prolonged period to work with the property owners to bring the properties back into acceptable condition, no significant improvements have been made by the owners and the properties remain in sub-standard condition.\u2019<\/p>\n

The plan to use compulsory purchase powers will be discussed by councillors on Stockport\u2019s housing, economy and environment scrutiny committee on October 16, before going to the council leader and cabinet team who will make the final decision.<\/p>\n

\"ThereThere are major housing pressures in Stockport (Image: Declan Carey)<\/p>\n

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If the powers are used, the council said that the properties would be put up for auction sale to the private sector, with a condition for the buyer to have the home \u2018fully renovated and reoccupied\u2019 within a defined timescale, bringing a unit of much-needed housing stock back into residential use.<\/p>\n

Housing is an urgent issue in Stockport, where there are more than 9,000 households on the social housing waiting list, with some facing a wait of up to 12 years.<\/p>\n

Stockport council<\/a> leader Mark Roberts said: \u201cThis is an important measure we are taking to ensure that houses that have been vacant for an extended period of time and have fallen into a sorry state can be reintroduced to the housing stock in the local area.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe houses in question are in varying levels of disrepair and are a detriment to their local areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will exercise this right in the future to ensure that good homes are not abandoned and left to become a stain on their local area.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhilst this is an important step to improve the area around those homes, and for them to be put to better use, it\u2019s important to note that the housing crisis cannot be solved through CPOs [Compulsory Purchase Orders] alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe housing crisis is a national issue, and one that requires a government that is unafraid of developers to be ambitious, strategic and thoughtful in their approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

The council leader called for the government to give councils the money needed to be able to \u2018make a difference and invest in their communities\u2019.<\/p>\n

A report last year revealed that there were hundreds of homes in Stockport that were sitting empty.<\/p>\n

Across the borough, 263 properties were known to have been left empty, with 35 of these having not been lived in for more than a decade.<\/p>\n

Higher rates of council tax are being charged to encourage the owners of long-term empty homes to bring them back into use.<\/p>\n

A Stockport council spokesperson said: \u201cWe are looking at options to bring long-term empty properties back into use for the benefit of local communities.”<\/p>\n

Coun Christine Carrigan, leader of Stockport’s opposition Labour<\/a> Group, said: \u201cFor too long abandoned properties have blighted our neighbourhoods while families in Stockport struggle to find somewhere affordable to live.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an important and very welcome start, but six homes will not scratch the surface of the problem. We need to see this evolve into a proper, ongoing programme, with clear annual targets and a visible pipeline of properties for action.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd when these homes are brought back into use, they must stay in use, ideally as social or affordable housing, not sold back into the same market that created the problem in the first place.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis move shows the right intent, but to make a real difference, we need to turn this one-off enforcement action into a standing commitment to tackle empty homes across Stockport, street by street.\u201d<\/p>\n

The six homes Stockport council could buy using compulsory purchase powers are:<\/p>\n