Hartlepool Borough Council supports plan to address derelict land and buildings after year-long investigation

Hartlepool Borough Council looked into derelict land and buildings in the town, both residential and commercial, last year.

A final report has now been drawn up which noted that empty properties can have “wider negative impacts on communities” including being a “catalyst for crime and economic/social degeneration”.

A number of recommendations have been formulated as part of the work looking at how the council can seek to improve measures.

These include exploring an expansion of the range of incentives available to the local authority to encourage sites to be brought back into use and that central government are lobbied to review national legislation.

They also include the council looking at increasing the costs which owners of empty properties and derelict land are required to pay as part of various sanctions processes.

The investigation found there is a “complexity of factors” that leads to the creation of derelict land and properties and there is “no ‘one size fits all’ solution” to the issue, adding it can be a “lengthy and costly” process.

The report was unanimously backed at the latest meeting of the council’s audit and governance committee.

Councillor Corinne Male, Burn Valley ward representative, said: “This comes down to quality of life for people living in Hartlepool, both the people living in particular areas that are directly affected, but also for Hartlepool as a town as a whole.”

Other actions include feeding the findings into the development of the council’s housing strategy and considering the implementation of a specific empty homes policy.

The report also recommends the council’s neighbourhood services committee explore re-introducing a Hartlepool landlord licensing scheme and/or tenant registration scheme.

Another step would include providing support and encouragement to business owners to bring empty properties back into use, including planning help and identifying relevant funding streams.

Council tax empty property data from September 2023 showed there were 1,960 homes registered as empty in Hartlepool, 4.4% of dwellings in the borough, with 264 empty for over two years.

The report will now be presented to various other council committees for the consideration and potential implementation of recommendations.