People in Stockport are calling for action to sort out the empty homes which are 'bringing down' neighbourhoods in the borough.

John and Pam Matuszczak live on Crossefield Road in Cheadle Hulme, near a house which they say has been unoccupied for years.

The empty property appears to be in poor condition, and has been chosen as one of six proposed to be bought by Stockport council using compulsory purchase powers.

Pam Matuszczak said: "It does impact the area, it brings it down, we're not planning to move but if we wanted to we couldn't with that here."

A council report stated: 'Each of the properties is having a detrimental impact on the environment and amenity of its immediate local area by reason of its dilapidated condition, having been vacant and unoccupied for multiple years.

'Despite sustained efforts by the Council over a prolonged period to work with the property owners to bring the properties back into acceptable condition, no significant improvements have been made by the owners and the properties remain in sub-standard condition.'

The plan to use compulsory purchase powers will be discussed by councillors on Stockport's housing, economy and environment scrutiny committee on October 16, before going to the council leader and cabinet team who will make the final decision.

Stockport Council's housing committee will discuss plans to use compulsory purchase powers (Image - Nub News)

If the powers are used, the council said that the properties would be put up for auction sale to the private sector, with a condition for the buyer to have the home 'fully renovated and reoccupied' within a defined timescale, bringing a unit of much-needed housing stock back into residential use.

Housing is an urgent issue in Stockport, where there are more than 9,000 households on the social housing waiting list, with some facing a wait of up to 12 years.

Stockport council leader Mark Roberts said: "This is an important measure we are taking to ensure that houses that have been vacant for an extended period of time and have fallen into a sorry state can be reintroduced to the housing stock in the local area.

"The houses in question are in varying levels of disrepair and are a detriment to their local areas.

"We will exercise this right in the future to ensure that good homes are not abandoned and left to become a stain on their local area.

"Whilst this is an important step to improve the area around those homes, and for them to be put to better use, it's important to note that the housing crisis cannot be solved through CPOs [Compulsory Purchase Orders] alone.

"The housing crisis is a national issue, and one that requires a government that is unafraid of developers to be ambitious, strategic and thoughtful in their approach."

The council leader called for the government to give councils the money needed to be able to 'make a difference and invest in their communities'.

1 Deniston Road in Heaton Moor, which the council could buy using compulsory purchase powers (Image - Google Maps)

A report last year revealed that there were hundreds of homes in Stockport that were sitting empty.

Across the borough, 263 properties were known to have been left empty, with 35 of these having not been lived in for more than a decade.

Higher rates of council tax are being charged to encourage the owners of long-term empty homes to bring them back into use.

A Stockport council spokesperson said: "We are looking at options to bring long-term empty properties back into use for the benefit of local communities."

Cllr Christine Carrigan, leader of Stockport's opposition Labour Group, said: "For too long abandoned properties have blighted our neighbourhoods while families in Stockport struggle to find somewhere affordable to live.

"This is an important and very welcome start, but six homes will not scratch the surface of the problem. We need to see this evolve into a proper, ongoing programme, with clear annual targets and a visible pipeline of properties for action.

"And when these homes are brought back into use, they must stay in use, ideally as social or affordable housing, not sold back into the same market that created the problem in the first place.

"This move shows the right intent, but to make a real difference, we need to turn this one-off enforcement action into a standing commitment to tackle empty homes across Stockport, street by street."

The six homes Stockport council could buy using compulsory purchase powers are:

• 34 Bodmin Drive, Bramhall
• 48 The Broadway, Bredbury
• 1 Deniston Road, Heaton Moor
• 39 Geneva Road, Bramall
• 177 Hyde Road, Woodley
• 73 Crossefield Road, Cheadle Hulme

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