EMPTY homes in Wellington have been left vacant for a whopping 209 years between them – local councillors have been told.

And they were told that one property alone in the town had been standing empty for 8,495 days which equated to 23 years, at a time when house-building targets increase.

Members of Wellington Town Council’s community committee were told on January 20 that there were 112 homes – in private ownership – which were unoccupied when records were gathered for the area in July of last year.

A presentation was given to the committee by Somerset Council officers Jo Humble and Amy Green about affordable housing in Wellington.

The standout figures from the presentation related to the amount of empty properties in Wellington – the majority of which can be found in the town centre.

Councillors heard that the 112 homes identified as being unused had been left vacant for 26,649 days.

The statistics were somewhat depressing at a time when there is an ever-increasing demand for affordable housing.

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There is no doubt that bringing empty homes back into use could play a key part in local strategies to meet housing need.

Councillors in Wellington were told that there were a number of reasons as to why homes were left empty.

Often homes become empty when the owners pass away which leads to a long administrative process known as probate when their assets are divided up and even then it does not automatically mean that the properties are brought back into use.

There are moves nationally to try and get something in place in order to quicken up the actions needed to get homes used again.

Councillors were told that they could all make a difference in trying to see the number of empty privately-owned homes in Wellington decrease.

“You could have your ear to the ground in terms of what’s happening and speak to the private sector landlords,” said Somerset Council’s new business and enabling officer Jo Humble. “You have your finger on the pulse and perhaps you should look and see if there’s more the town council could do with empty homes.”

This was in reference to the town council’s project with the Kings Arms in which it is bringing the former empty pub building back to life into community use with the support of Falcon Rural Housing.

Not only are empty homes a wasted resource, but they are often the subject of complaints and frustration for neighbours who are concerned about them falling into disrepair, gardens left overgrown and becoming unwanted venues for crime and anti-social behaviour.

Privately-owned properties which remain empty is a problem faced by local authorities across the country. There are 700,000 empty and unfurnished homes in England with 260,000 of those classed as “long-term empty” meaning nobody had lived in them for six months or more.