Kent’s ‘No Use Empty’ scheme among winners at UK Placemaking Awards
Kent County Council’s ‘No Use Empty’ initiative was among the winners at the inaugural Placemaking Awards at the British Museum in Central London.
The scheme, which returns empty homes across the county to use, won in the ‘Partnership’ category, in recognition of the collaboration between all twelve authorities in Kent, national charity Empty Homes, Homes and Communities Agency and the social housing provider Amicus Horizon.
The scheme, launched in 2005, has been adopted outside of Kent with Bristol
City Council and authorities across the West of England launching their own ‘No Use Empty’ initiatives. The scheme has also been used as a template by the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament, both of which have launched national initiatives to tackle empty homes.
The judges praised the scheme’s ‘innovative approach’ and ‘outstanding results’ with 3,130 former empty homes in Kent now returned to use and occupied. The awards received almost 300 submissions from the public and private sector, across 16 categories.
Mark Dance, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, KCC said: “We are incredibly proud of the No Use Empty scheme, and it is a credit to all involved that it has been recognised on a national level at the Placemaking Awards.
“Empty and unused properties can depreciate the value of adjacent properties by up to 18%, so this is an issue that goes way beyond bricks-and-mortar and impacts the wider social and economic wellbeing of an area. The scheme has created more than 3,000 new homes to date, which not only represents a great return on investment, it has had a pronounced regenerative impact on some of the County’s more deprived areas.”
The NUE scheme offers interest free loans (repayable in three years) of up to £175,000 (£25,000 per unit) to those wishing to revive long-term empty properties. This year NUE launched a new partnership with social housing provider Amicus Horizon to create affordable homes, available for rent
at 80% market value, as well as undertaking its largest ever project
(by financial value) and first office to residential conversion,
which is underway on Sandgate Road in Folkestone.
Others nominated in the Partnership Working Category were:
Northumberlandia, Banks Group and Blagdon Estate on behalf of partners
Ancoats Project, Manchester, Homes&Communities Agency
St Clement’s Hospital, John Thompson&Partners
The Boulevard Regeneration Partnership, Kingston upon Hull City Council
Nine Elms on the South Bank, Nine Elms Vauxhall Partnership