HC Deb 24 May 1989 vol 153 cc581-3W
13. Mr. Michael

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the number of empty residential properties owned by his Department.

Mr. Chope

Yes. As at 1 April 1989, 38 of the 433 residential properties owned by the Department of the Environment were empty. Of these only 13 are surplus to requirements and these are in process of disposal on the open market.

25. Mr. Boyes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will seek guidance from local authorities and housing associations on the use of empty residential property possessed by his Department.

Mr. Chope

No. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Cynon Valley (Mrs. Clwyd) earlier today.

59. Mr. Ross

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will issue guidance to Government Departments on the use of Government-owned empty residential property.

73. Mr. Buckley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to bring empty Government-owned residential property into use.

89. Mr. Morgan

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on Government policy concerning empty residential property in its possession.

Mr. Chope

My Department takes every opportunity to advise other Government Departments on the best use of their residential property and to draw to their attention the need to bring empty residential property back into use as early as possible.

75. Mr. Lewis

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of empty properties belonging to his Departmenst is suitable for use as temporary accommodation by homeless people.

Mr. Chope

At present there are no empty properties owned by the Department of the Environment suitable for use as temporary accommodation for the homeless. Should empty residential properties not be required for further Government use and they cannot be sold because of legal restrictions or sold within six months they are offered first to the local housing authority and then to a housing association.

90. Mr. Wareing

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of properties owned by his Department and suitable for residential accommodation has been empty for more than six months.

Mr. Chope

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Cardiff, South and Penarth (Mr. Michael) earlier today. The 38 empty properties represent 8.7 per cent. of the total residential property owned by my Department.

92. Mr. John P. Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish a list of all the empty residential property owned by his Department.

Mr. Flynn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will provide a table showing by region of England and Wales the number and percentage of empty residential property owned by his Department.

Mr. Chope

A list showing all empty residential property owned by the Department of the Environment by region, number and percentage of total stock as at 1 April 1989, is set out.

Region Number Percentage Address
Scotland 11 2.5 Custom House, Campbeltown, Argyll (two units)
George Street, Dunoon, Argyll
Hamilton House, Glasgow
Veterinary Research Station, Lasswade, Midlothian (two units)
86 Lomond Road, Wemyss Bay, Inverclyde
9 Windsor Street, Shotts, Motherwell
52, 54, 56 School Road, Peterhead, Banss Buchan (three units)
North East 3 0.7 Hawkills Estate, Easingwold Hambleton (two units)
Coastguard Station, Redcar, Lanbaurgh
North West 1 0.2 Courts of Justice, Manchester
Eastern 2 0.4 26 London Road, Brentwood
Coastguard Station, Felixstowe, Suffolk Coastal
London 1 0.2 173 Ashley Gardens, Westminster
South West 8 1.9 Fire Services College, Moreton-in-the-Marsh, Cotswold (four units)
Strand House, Isle of Scilly
Shapwick Wireless Depot, Bridgewater, Sedgemoor
South East 12 2.8 Osborne Estate, East Cowes, Medina (twelve units)
38 8.7

Mr. Eastham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any proposals to release property belonging to his Department, which has been empty for more than a year and is suitable for residential accommodation, for use by young people who are at present homeless.

Mr. Chope

At present there are no empty properties suitable for residential accommodation owned by the Department of the Environment which could be made available for use by homeless young people.

Empty residential properties owned by my Department for which there is no further Government use are put on the open market for sale. If, because of legal restrictions, they cannot be sold or sold within six months they are offered first to the local housing authority and then to a housing association.

Mr. John Evans

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will seek guidance from the local authority organisations on how best to use the empty property owned by his Department.

Mr. Chope

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Cynon Valley (Mrs. Clwyd) earlier today.