The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has announced that £22million is to be invested in renovating more than 1,300 of London's abandoned, derelict and blighted buildings and turning them into family homes.

The announcement means that the Mayor is on course to meet his manifesto pledge to invest a total of £60million new funding to bring over 3,400 empty homes back into use by 2011. London boroughs have now received over £39 million from the Mayor and he has promised a further £21 million in 2010/11 to fund a range of practical measures to encourage owners to repair and bring their homes back into use. The Mayor's aim is to reduce the proportion of long-term empty homes in the capital to one per cent.

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As well as providing much-needed affordable homes in the capital, the funding will support an extensive repairs and renovations programme, boosting London's ailing construction industry. It also delivers an additional boost for the industry with over £65 million being given to boroughs to spend in 2009/10 to improve the condition and environmental performance of London's existing homes.

The Mayor said: "In the last housing market downturn of the 1990s, the number of empty homes soared. Leaving homes empty when so many people are seeking housing is unacceptable and abandoned buildings can blight neighbourhoods, attracting vandalism and creating local eyesores.

"This package delivers an unprecedented level of funding to tackle the capital's empty homes, more than tripling the previous budget. Working with London's boroughs, this investment will help to significantly improve London's housing stock."

(CD/JM)