Michael and Diane Hoy write about empty homes here:
As she walks around Hullbridge (the Ward she represents) Diane makes a note of all those?which?appear empty and reports them to the Council. ?However she has so far been disappointed in the progress by the council in making those homes available to the public, either to rent or to buy.
We have obtained the figures for empty homes in the Rochford District. ?They are set out below.
Total no. of empty properties: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 1,021
Properties empty for over 6 months: ? ? 575
Properties empty for over 1 year: ? ? ? ? ? ?375
The full article is worth a read, especially with its reference to the core strategy.