Almost 5,000 council owned buildings left empty during two year period

Embargoed: 22:30, Monday 21st October 

  • 4,908 council-owned non-residential properties left empty for part or all of a two-year period.

  • Over £88 million spent on insuring, securing, maintaining and renovating empty properties

  • Of 172 councils that provided data for both 2016-17 and 2022-23, the number of empty properties has increased by 11.2 per cent from 3,206 to 3,564

  • Full regional breakdown can be found below

Thousands of council-owned buildings have spent time empty across a two year period, costing taxpayers tens of millions of pounds in insurance, security, maintenance and renovation, new research by the TaxPayers’ Alliance has found. 

Between January 2022 and December 2023, at least 4,908 council-owned non-residential properties were vacant for all or part of that time, with 3,408 of these properties adding up to a total of over 8.3 million square metres. This comes as local government leaders descend on Harrogate for the annual Local Government Association conference

£88.5 million was spent by local authorities during that period on insuring, securing, maintaining and renovating these properties. Of this, £14.1 million was spent on renovating one building, Parallax, which was empty for 22 of the 24 months and is owned by south Cambridgeshire district council, where staff are currently working four days a week as part of a trial.

Compared to the last time this research was conducted, the number of empty non-residential properties has grown. For councils that provided data for both 2016 to 2017, and 2022 to 2023, the number of vacant properties increased by 11.2 per cent from 3,206 to 3,564.

The council with the largest number of empty properties was Sandwell. The region with the most unoccupied properties was Scotland with 1,044. Twenty three councils reported zero empty properties.

The TPA is calling on councils to reconsider any plans to expand their property portfolios and to sell off empty properties if they cannot be filled. Any funding raised from selling commercial investments can currently only be used for capital purposes, or for projects that lead to ongoing savings or efficiency improvements. However in February the previous government allowed 19 councils to sell assets to fund day-to-day spending. 

 

FIND THE FULL RESEARCH AND DATASET HERE


Key findings:

  • Between January 2022 and December 2023, at least 4,908 council-owned non-residential properties were vacant for all or part of that time.

  • 172 councils provided data on their unoccupied non-residential properties for both January 2016 to December 2017 and January 2022 to December 2023. Among this group the number of unoccupied properties grew by 11.2 per cent from 3,206 to 3,564.

  • Size data was provided for 3,408 properties that were empty for one month or longer between January 2022 and December 2023, totalling 8,347,680 square metres. This is nearly three times the size of the City of London.
     
  • The total cost of insuring, securing, maintaining and renovating properties that were empty for one month or longer between January 2022 and December 2023 was at least £88,478,082.

  • £61,991,086 of this was renovation costs, with five empty properties comprising £25,950,175 of this sum between January 2022 and December 2023.

  • The most expensive empty property between January 2022 and December 2023 was Parallax, 270 Cambridge Science Park where renovations cost £14,086,092. It was unoccupied for 22 of the 24 months examined.

  • Excluding renovation costs, councils with properties that were empty for one month or longer between January 2022 and December 2023 spent on average £8,117 per property and £155,625 per council insuring, securing and maintaining them. 

  • The council with the largest number of empty properties between January 2022 and December 2023 was Sandwell with 165 unoccupied properties, while 23 councils reported they had no unoccupied properties.

  • The region with the most unoccupied properties between January 2022 and December 2023 was Scotland with 1,044 at a total cost of £11,320,325. The English region with the most unoccupied properties was the South East with 818 at a total cost of £24,003,054.


FIND THE FULL RESEARCH AND DATASET HERE

 

Shimeon Lee, researcher at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:

"Taxpayers will be amazed by the property portfolio that has been built up by big-spending town hall bosses

“But what will really shock residents is the number of local authorities who have allowed prime real estate to sit vacant, despite complaining incessantly about the perilous state of their finances.

“Councils across the UK need to carefully review their assets and ensure they develop a strategy for any that are being under-utilised.”


TPA spokespeople are available for live and pre-recorded broadcast interviews via 07795 084 113 (no texts)



Regional breakdown:

 

East Midlands

  • In the East Midlands there were 273 empty properties between January 2022 and December 2023, costing £1,911,467.
  • The council with the most empty properties in the East Midlands was Chesterfield, with 105. The council with the highest spending on empty properties was West Lindsey, at £681,080.

 

East of England

  • In the East of England there were 471 empty properties between January 2022 and December 2023, costing £17,157,882.
  • The council with the most empty properties in the East of England was Harlow, with 53. The council with the highest spending on empty properties was South Cambridgeshire, at £14,103,860.

 

London

  • In London there were 376 empty properties between January 2022 and December 2023, costing £8,174,194.
  • The council with the most empty properties in London was the City of London, with 57. The council with the highest spending on empty properties was also the City of London, at £4,035,191.

 

North East

  • In the North East there were 116 empty properties between January 2022 and December 2023, costing £2,069,488.
  • The council with the most empty properties in the North East was North Tyneside, with 49. The council with the highest spending on empty properties was Stockton-on-Tees, at £1,447,275.

 

North West

  • In the North West there were 326 empty properties between January 2022 and December 2023, costing £5,972,702.
  • The council with the most empty properties in the North West was Knowsley, with 51. The council with the highest spending on empty properties was Lancashire, at £1,923,175.

 

Northern Ireland

  • In Northern Ireland there were 56 empty properties between January 2022 and December 2023, costing £135,980.
  • The council with the most empty properties in Northern Ireland was Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, with 12. The council with the highest spending on empty properties was also Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, at £69,019.

 

Scotland

  • In Scotland there were 1,044 empty properties between January 2022 and December 2023, costing £11,320,325.
  • The council with the most empty properties in Scotland was South Lanarkshire, with 133. The council with the highest spending on empty properties was Aberdeenshire, at £3,869,018.

 

South East

  • In the South East there were 818 empty properties between January 2022 and December 2023, costing £24,003,054.
  • The council with the most empty properties in the South East was Portsmouth, with 119. The council with the highest spending on empty properties was Isle of Wight, at £5,452,726.

 

South West

  • In the South West there were 363 empty properties between January 2022 and December 2023, costing £7,234,536.
  • The council with the most empty properties in the South West was Bath and North East Somerset, with 85. The council with the highest spending on empty properties was also Bath and North East Somerset, at £3,986,559.

 

Wales

  • In Wales there were 210 empty properties between January 2022 and December 2023, costing £648,956.
  • The council with the most empty properties in Wales was Flintshire, with 58. The council with the highest spending on empty properties was Merthyr Tydfil, at £449,854.

 

West Midlands

  • In the West Midlands there were 579 empty properties between January 2022 and December 2023, costing £3,730,889.
  • The council with the most empty properties in the West Midlands was Sandwell, with 165. The council with the highest spending on empty properties was Warwickshire, at £1,451,359.

 

Yorkshire and the Humber

  • In Yorkshire and the Humber there were 276 empty properties between January 2022 and December 2023, costing £6,118,609.
  • The council with the most empty properties in Yorkshire and the Humber was Wakefield, with 65. The council with the highest spending on empty properties was also Wakefield, at £3,344,011.

 


Media contact:


Elliot Keck
Head of Campaigns, TaxPayers' Alliance
[email protected]
24-hour media hotline: 07795 084 113 (no texts)


Notes to editors:

  1. Founded in 2004 by Matthew Elliott and Andrew Allum, the TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) campaigns to reform taxes and public services, cut waste and speak up for British taxpayers. Find out more at www.taxpayersalliance.com.

  2. TaxPayers' Alliance's research council.

  3. In the previous version of this research, published in 2019 and reviewing data from January 2016 and December 2017, there were at least 6,047 council owned properties that spent a period of time empty. However, of the 172 councils that provided data in both instances, the number rose from 3,206 to 3,564.

  4. Find the full research paper, including a dataset, here.

 

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