A NEW review of empty houses is being carried out as part of a government drive to turn nearly three quarters of a million empty properties across the country into much needed homes.

The government say up to 710,000 properties in the UK are still empty despite a major drive to bring abandoned and neglected buildings back into the housing stock.

Now the district council in Hambleton, North Yorkshire has said it will be contacting owners of properties which are known to have been empty to find out if they are still empty or not.

Residents can also find out more about any help that may be available through the council’s website.

In 2013 the number of empty properties across the North-East and North Yorkshire fell by nearly 4,000, to 45,846, a drop of 8.5 per cent. Long term empty homes, those empty for more than six months, went down by more than 14 per cent to 15,243.

It is these homes that cause the most concern because they fall into disrepair and attract anti social behaviour. The numbers in Hambleton went down from 444 to 383 and in Richmondshire from 361 to 282 in 2013.

For information on the review in Hambleton go to www.hambleton.gov.uk