Survey backs renovation

A new survey has shown that the renovation of existing properties which are currently unoccupied is a measure most of the British public would support.

the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said a poll carried out by ICM on its behalf showed that the public was split down the middle on several issues, with around half the public opposed to the government's plans for building three million new homes by 2020, while similar numbers believed landowners and developers would be the main gainers from such plans and that communities would suffer from them.

However, a clear majority (77 per cent) said a higher priority should be given to bringing the 700,000 empty homes in Britain back into use.

Such a move could lead to large-scale renovation, with many of those moving into such homes making a major contribution to such work.

The Chartered Institute of Housing reported this week that at its south-east region annual conference Empty Homes Agency policy advisor Henry Oliver called for the 80,000 empty homes in the region to be brought back into use to ease the housing crisis.


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