Monday 11 February 2013

Empty Properties

Crunching and interpreting data from the 2011 census will no doubt go on for some time to come, but one interesting set of statistics relates to properties returning "no usual resident". These were properties which were either vacant at the time of the census or second homes. Not included in the figures it seems are the many thousands of holiday lets which are a major feature in many coastal and rural areas of Wales.

The full data set for Wales can be found here. To view detailed figures for each authority at ward level, click on the name of the council.

[NB This link appears to be unstable. To find the data, go to the ONS website here. Select "Get data by topic", then choose "Housing". Scroll down to "Household Spaces, 2011 (QS417EW)". Select and click on "Next" at the bottom of the page. To view, click on "Next" and then select "2011 Administrative Hierarchy". Click on "Next", and you will see the data for Wales. To drill down, click on Wales, and then click on an individual county to see ward level data.]

The overall percentage for "no usual resident" for Wales as a whole was 5.97%, compared with 4.25% for England.

Within Wales there is a wide variation between the 22 local authorities. Leading the field with the highest percentages of vacant properties and/or second homes were the following:


Authority
At least one usual resident
No usual resident
% vacant
Gwynedd
52,473
8,602
14.1
Pembrokeshire
53,122
7,590
12.5
Angelsey
30,594
3,589
10.5
Ceredigion
31,562
3,107
8.9
Conwy
51,177
5,022
8.9
Powys
58,345
5,137
8.1
Merthyr Tydfil
24,264
1,990
7.6
Carmarthenshire
78,829
5,326
6.3

Not suprisingly, there is a wide variation at ward level as well. Abersoch in Gwynedd is probably the most extreme case, with 54% of properties returned as "no usual resident".

The figures for the remaining local authorities were as follows:


Authority
At least one usual resident
No usual resident
% vacant
Neath Port Talbot
60,393
3,624
5.7
Rhondda Cynon Taf
99,663
5,647
5.4
Denbighshire
40,546
2,191
5.1
Swansea
103,497
5,480
5
Blaenau Gwent
30,416
1,536
4.8
Bridgend
58,515
2,983
4.8
Monmouthshire
38,233
1,845
4.6
Torfaen
38,524
1,705
4.2
Cardiff
142,557
6,042
4.1
Vale of Glamorgan
53,505
2,159
3.9
Newport
61.172
2,433
3.8
Caerphilly
74,479
2,765
3.6
Wrexham
57,029
2,015
3.4
Flintshire
63,781
2,057
3.1

Only 7 of the 22 Welsh authorities were below the average for England.

In some cases the figures throw a question mark over proposed Local Development Plans which provide for a massive expansion of house building.

Carmarthenshire is one which comes to mind. Its LDP is based on a projection that the number of households would soar from 78,000 in 2006 to just over 93,000 in 2021. Five years into this period, and the number of households was static at 78,000. The number of empty properties, on the other hand, rose from 3,574 in 2001 to 5,326 in 2011.

2 comments:

Robert said...

In Llanelli the new golf course has seen a massive house building program in and around the course but also new homes going up all over the place.

We have no jobs and we have no real industry yet we are seeing Llanelli as being the dumping ground for people for Camermarthensuire while Camerthenshire council tries to make it a city.

Anonymous said...

How long has 36 Brynmerig Llangunnor been empty and how much rent has been lost to Carmarthenshire County Council in 2012 been lost to date, and this is the reply

This property has been empty since 2nd September, 2012.

The property is still vacant as essential void works and Carmarthenshire Home Standard works (to bring the dwelling up to the required standard) are been undertaken on the property.

The total loss to date is £1,528.48.
And their are about 180 people wating for houses and its still empty today