Barnsley Council is considering allocating funding to try and encourage people to bring empty homes back into use.

With over 1,500 long term empty homes in the private sector in Barnsley, the council wants to work with individual property owners to get the homes back into use, and where appropriate link private grants to council nomination rights.

Cllr Bill Newman, Cabinet Spokesperson for Development, said: "Over the past few years we have seen council waiting lists grow, whilst at the same time the number of private properties has grown significantly. Over 1,500 are stood empty and unused, and we want to try and work with individual owners to see how we could use some of these homes to provide affordable rented housing for local people.

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"As such we have agreed to provide a limited sum of money that we have secured from external sources to undertake a pilot programme in 2008, to see if we can make better use of the housing stock in the borough. It does not seem right that we have people wanting housing and a large number of homes are empty."

(CD/JM)