Call for action on 1,616 empty properties in Wrexham

A Plaid Cymru councillor has urged Wrexham council to be more pro-active in dealing with more than 1600 long-term empty properties in the county borough.

Councillor Marc Jones, who represents the Grosvenor ward, raised the matter at the council's Executive Board meeting today. He said: "There were 1616 long-term empty properties in Wrecsam as of November 2023. To my knowledge, we don't now have an empty properties officer, as we used to have. This officer was able to offer advice and support to landlords to obtain loans or grants to bring their properties back into use.

"I'm not aware of any Compulsory Purchase Orders being imposed where landlords have let derelict properties become an eyesore and a blight on the communities. This is despite a Welsh Government advisor being provided who had first-hand experience of carrying out such orders. I've asked whether we have made use of his skills to navigate what is a complex area of law.

"This is a critical issue. Many of these properties are very visible and drag our communities down. More importantly, bringing them back into use would also contribute significantly to the housing need in Wrexham. It would certainly help address the critical problem the council has with more than 3300 people on the council housing waiting list. It would also reduce the need to build on green field sites surrounding the town."

Fewer than 50 of these empty properties are council owned, most of which are being refurbished after becoming vacant. The vast majority of the 1616 properties are in private ownership, often with absentee landlords.

Officers have promised to write to Cllr Jones with answers to his questions and he said it was important that the council took the issue seriously: "There is a housing need that isn't being addressed. Hundreds of families are in temporary accommodation, many more are in sub-standard and overcrowded housing. Proposals for large executive housing estates in the countryside aren't meeting that need, partly because they're four-bedroom houses beyond the reach of people on low and average wages. Meeting that need should be a council priority - either through building more council housing or ensuring that a large proportion of these empty properties are brought back into use.

"There is also an option for a community enterprise, which could buy and refurbish empty properties to let or sell at a reasonable price. That's something I would wholeheartedly support as it's worked in other communities such as Grimsby where derelict housing once blighted the community. It's not my area of expertise but it's another way forward if the public sector doesn't have the capacity."