Empty homes scandal bill ‘could top £5m’
THE final bill for taxpayers from the Empty Homes debacle could eventually top £5 million, council bosses have admitted.
It comes after it emerged that the government could claw back up to £1.8m in grant funding from Rossendale council following the completion of an audit of renovated properties in April.
And the Conservative group leader has lodged a formal complaint to council chief executive Stuart Sugarman, calling for the resignation of council leader Alyson Barnes while investigations into the ‘scandal’ are concluded.
Coun Annabel Shipley says it is unacceptable that, three years on from the collapse of management firm AAAW Ltd - which resulted in the responsibility of the reno- vation of 359 empty homes falling into Rossendale council’s hands - “nobody has been held accountable” for the “catastrophic” scheme.
Previous estimates have put the budget black hole from the scheme, funded by Homes England (formerly known as the Homes and Communities Agency) in 2012, at £4m, the Tory group estimate the cost to the council will now top £5million.
A council report published this week also forecasts that a further £288,000 could be lost in bad debt from rental properties in the scheme.
The council won a £4.8m government contract to bring 474 properties across East Lancashire back into use in 2012.
It delegated the scheme to AAAW Ltd, but after the company went into liquidation in January 2015 the council has effectively become effective landlord of the properties.
Since 2017, the day-today costs lie with housing firm Calico, but some ‘residual’ legal challenge costs and their risk remain with the council.
Coun Barnes told the Free Press she did not dispute the estimated cost to the council of £5m.
She said: “We are still looking through all that and all that will be addressed at the end of the day. It’s certainly a big sum of money. It’s feasible that Homes England will ask for the return of some grants. Whether they will or not we are still waiting to hear.”
She added that Homes England is carrying out an audit of the renovated properties, which should be completed by April. A police investigation is also still ongoing.
Coun Barnes added: “I find it extraordinary that Coun Shipley all of a sudden seems be talking about issues that have been in the public domain for three years. We also cannot forget that despite the major problems this project, more than 300 homes have been brought back into use.”
Homes England said they are ‘actively engaged’ with the council to ensure the ‘best possible outcome’ for residents.
A spokesperson said: “Rossendale Council are committed to completing all the works on approximately 190 homes by the end of 2018.”