Council homes being left empty too long

7:30am Friday 20th July 2012 in News

THURROCK Council’s cabinet heard council properties have been left empty too long before being re-let in the past.

The Labour cabinet was told the issue has been brought “in focus” because April’s target for re-letting homes within 120 days had not been met, taking 138 days because of a backlog.

The target is supposed to be reducing in stages to a target of 60 days by the end of the year.

A report to the cabinet said: “The average time to turnaround a void property is currently very high, which is due to the previous poor system of dealing with voids. There are long standing voids within this category which will all be complete by the end of June.

“A new voids process, based on a central team and a jointly agreed refurbishment standard, is now operating and has resulted in every property being turned around within the target time.

“As the backlog remains part of the void figures for the whole year, it is unlikely any real improvement will be seen until quarter two.

“There should be a dramatic reduction in turnaround time.”

Comments(37)

Bernard 87 says...
8:09am Fri 20 Jul 12

So in other words....another fail by our Labour led council.

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Thecountrysgonetopot! says...
9:01am Fri 20 Jul 12

They havent improved! There is a house in Tilbury round the corner from me that has been empty for over 2 months and in that time the state of the place has gone down and down

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improving road safety says...
9:05am Fri 20 Jul 12

What a load of cods wallop Bernard 87, do you pluck these statements out of thin air just to support the Thurrock Conservative party? I recall the Thurrock problems web site highlighting the empty properties problem in Thurrock way back when the Conservatives were in administration in Thurrock, however, there is no excusing any party in Thurrock council regarding this serious outstanding housing problem, has the present Morrison’s contract got anything to do with this ongoing delaying mess? A sitting on the fence Thurrock voter, waiting for the weight limit to be lifted off Devonshire road!

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improving road safety says...
9:11am Fri 20 Jul 12

Thurrock residents that bid for a property are not even getting the chance to view the property that they are successful in winning for weeks after the bidding! And then the winning candidate is told that they can not move into the property due to work that has to be completed! That same property then stays empty again for several weeks or months awaiting the contractors, WHY?

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Bernard 87 says...
10:01am Fri 20 Jul 12

ImprovingRoadSafety.


Correct me if I'm wrong:
1.We have a Labour council
2.They are in charge of Thurrocks council housing stock
3.They make all the decisions in regards to how long it takes to turn around housing
4.Thurrock has a long long history of electing Labour councils so most of the boroughs long standing problems can be placed on Labours doorstep
5.The article states "it is unlikely any real improvement will be seen until quarter two" so therefore they have failed to make the target they set themselves.

Your last comment is spot on. I cannot understand why it takes so long to turn a house around, and I'm sure there may be more to it then going in, splashing a bit of paint around but leaving houses empty while building on every scrap on land is wrong.

If the Tories were in the town hall and came out with this article I would be just as annoyed and asking the same questions but in this case the Tories have little to do with making big housing decisions.

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hilton85 says...
10:43am Fri 20 Jul 12

The flat below me has been empty for 5 months now. This is probably due to the fact the council didn’t have the keys for it. My flats had leaks from my bath and sink pipes which flooded my flat for 5 weeks, the empty flat below and the flat below that, the council couldn’t even get in to the empty flat below mine to investigate as they couldn’t find the keys. They thought Morrison had the keys and Morrison said the council had them. Apparently there are loads of void properties in Tilbury aswell. With such a high demand now for affordable housing they need to stop worrying about figures and start housing all these hundreds of people.

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Thurrock Trojan says...
12:39pm Fri 20 Jul 12

Bernard 87 wrote:
So in other words....another fail by our Labour led council.
Wrong.

The article mentions April's figures - a month before Labour was elected for local council.

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Thurrock Trojan says...
12:42pm Fri 20 Jul 12

Furthermore, Labour was elected two months ago. How on earth do you expect the housing waiting list to improve in such a short period of time? Perhaps a magic wand would help?

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Thurrock Trojan says...
12:48pm Fri 20 Jul 12

improving road safety wrote:
What a load of cods wallop Bernard 87, do you pluck these statements out of thin air just to support the Thurrock Conservative party? I recall the Thurrock problems web site highlighting the empty properties problem in Thurrock way back when the Conservatives were in administration in Thurrock, however, there is no excusing any party in Thurrock council regarding this serious outstanding housing problem, has the present Morrison’s contract got anything to do with this ongoing delaying mess? A sitting on the fence Thurrock voter, waiting for the weight limit to be lifted off Devonshire road!
Spot-on. The unacceptable waiting lists have been like this for a long time now, and naturally, it will take a prolonged amount of time for waiting lists to come down.

Things aren't going to happen overnight, and to blame Labour, who was elected just 8 weeks ago is absolutely ludicrous and ridiculous.

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RobF4 says...
12:55pm Fri 20 Jul 12

Thurrock Trojan wrote:
Furthermore, Labour was elected two months ago. How on earth do you expect the housing waiting list to improve in such a short period of time? Perhaps a magic wand would help?
Someone correct me if wrong, but was Labour not in last year. I understood that via independents, and the BNP they held the council by about 1 or 2 councillors.

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Bernard 87 says...
1:01pm Fri 20 Jul 12

They have now got a 1 seat majority but Labour have been in control since 2010 so thats 2 years not 8 weeks. Thats quite a long time to still not be meeting their own targets.

Therefore my original comment still stands. Had they only been in power since May this year I would not have made the comment.

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Thurrock Trojan says...
1:04pm Fri 20 Jul 12

No, the council was of no overall control. Therefore your original comment is null and void.

The Tories need to take their share if the blame, not just Labour.

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Ed Woods says...
1:08pm Fri 20 Jul 12

RobF4 wrote:
Thurrock Trojan wrote: Furthermore, Labour was elected two months ago. How on earth do you expect the housing waiting list to improve in such a short period of time? Perhaps a magic wand would help?
Someone correct me if wrong, but was Labour not in last year. I understood that via independents, and the BNP they held the council by about 1 or 2 councillors.
Labour has run the Council since 2011 as a minority administration in a hung council - after this years local elections they gained control outright with 25 Labour Councillors.

I don't have the exact figures but will try and find them later and post some links -but the average re-let time under the previous Conservative administration was 20 or 30 days - I'm sure the relet time had been going down every year since the Conservatives took control but in the last year began to get worse.

I dont have the exact figures but will try and dig them out.

Since Labour took control the relet time has tripled. Although one wonders if having Morrisons as the contractor to repair and decorate empty Council properties has anything to do with these appalling figures.

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Ed Woods says...
1:12pm Fri 20 Jul 12

Ed Woods wrote:
RobF4 wrote:
Thurrock Trojan wrote: Furthermore, Labour was elected two months ago. How on earth do you expect the housing waiting list to improve in such a short period of time? Perhaps a magic wand would help?
Someone correct me if wrong, but was Labour not in last year. I understood that via independents, and the BNP they held the council by about 1 or 2 councillors.
Labour has run the Council since 2011 as a minority administration in a hung council - after this years local elections they gained control outright with 25 Labour Councillors. I don't have the exact figures but will try and find them later and post some links -but the average re-let time under the previous Conservative administration was 20 or 30 days - I'm sure the relet time had been going down every year since the Conservatives took control but in the last year began to get worse. I dont have the exact figures but will try and dig them out. Since Labour took control the relet time has tripled. Although one wonders if having Morrisons as the contractor to repair and decorate empty Council properties has anything to do with these appalling figures.
Whoops - correct above post - Labour took control in 2010.

Here is a link to a nice bar chart

http://democracy.thu
rrock.gov.uk/CmisWeb
Public/Binary.ashx?D
ocument=19095

As you can see the Labour run Council began to lose control of the re let times from April 2011 onwards - they have been in control and running things since 2010.

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thurrock_citizen says...
1:15pm Fri 20 Jul 12

That’s facts on why Thurrock Council have so many empty houses is due to cost cutting by TBC. They started sub contacting the voids out but due to the low prices all the contractors started to refuse the work. They have now started to get Morrinson’s to do voids, although even Morrinsons have less tradesman than when they 1st took over the contact. I know someone that works for Morrisons and he works on the voids. All this is being caused by the lack of funding from TBC.
If you look around Tilbury there are about 10 empty houses in a 5 minutes’ walk. Absolutely disgusting when families are trying to get properties and TBC are trying to save money and are leaving them empty.
The councillors that sit in these meetings should be ashamed of themselves, and don’t start blaming the last lot where in power.. Its happening on your watch!!!!!

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Thurrock Trojan says...
1:19pm Fri 20 Jul 12

There's too much blame culture in today's politics, rather than the main parties and councillors actually working together.

One of the biggest problems local authorities are facing nationwide is the amount of council accommodation which is being set aside for immigrants.

Things will get worse from April 2013 when the Housing Benefit Cap comes into effect. More and more people will relocate to Thurrock from London, queue jumping housing waiting lists.

We don't have enough council accommodation or affordable privately rented accommodation. You can thank Margaret Thatcher for this when she sold off council properties in the 1980s, and the situation has worsened year-on-year.

That said, successive governments also need to take their share of the blame because they did nothing to tackle the unacceptable national waiting lists for council accommodation.

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Bernard 87 says...
1:26pm Fri 20 Jul 12

Thanks Ed.

That confirms that Labour who were in power since 2010 (as a minority administration) have had more than enough time to turn things around.20-30 days seems a great deal more realistic than nearly four months.

Interesting post Thurrock Citizen.

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Thurrock Trojan says...
1:26pm Fri 20 Jul 12

Thurrock Council is under immense pressure to tackle housing waiting lists because of the high volume of people moving into the borough, most of whom are foreigners.

Why should foreigners be allowed to queue jump? I know people who have been on the waiting list for more than 5 years, yet a vacant council property is let to a foreigner within a matter of weeks.

I have noticed a sudden increase of Romanian and Asians (of Middle Eastern descent) in Ockendon
who have moved into council
accommodation. Most of them have moved from London.

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RobF4 says...
1:29pm Fri 20 Jul 12

This is downright hilarious; it’s quite obvious where political allegiances lie, and when corrected the apologies are not easy in coming forward either.

For me I hate politicians, it’s always them and us, blah de blah and towing the political party line.

I would prefer for all councillors to pick the best from all of the parties and work together, this should not be about labour or the conservatives. Let’s have everyone as an independent!

Yep I live on Chafford Hundred, and I feel our local councillors are doing what they have been elected for and looking after local issues, the day this changes is the day the councillors will no longer get my vote.

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Thurrock Trojan says...
1:38pm Fri 20 Jul 12

My local councillor is UKIP (and I didn't vote UKIP) and he's made a good impression of the people of Aveley and Uplands.

I trust him more than I do our useless Tory MP Jackie Doyle-Price aka Lady Sheffield, who would rather we (her constituents) feel sorry for her millionaire banker friends rather than focus on local issues.

Housing, schools, jobs, local GP practices - all are essential issues which Lady Sheffield has avoided these last two years.

Rather than suck up to her black and posh constituents of North Stifford, Orsett, Bulphan and Chafford Hundred, Jackie Doyle-Price needs to get her head out of the clouds and stop turning Thurrock into a posh man's Newham.

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RobF4 says...
1:46pm Fri 20 Jul 12

Thurrock Trojan wrote:
My local councillor is UKIP (and I didn't vote UKIP) and he's made a good impression of the people of Aveley and Uplands. I trust him more than I do our useless Tory MP Jackie Doyle-Price aka Lady Sheffield, who would rather we (her constituents) feel sorry for her millionaire banker friends rather than focus on local issues. Housing, schools, jobs, local GP practices - all are essential issues which Lady Sheffield has avoided these last two years. Rather than suck up to her black and posh constituents of North Stifford, Orsett, Bulphan and Chafford Hundred, Jackie Doyle-Price needs to get her head out of the clouds and stop turning Thurrock into a posh man's Newham.
So it was not Jackie that has worked for the last two years to get the money to expand the Academy in Tilbury and Chadwell St Mary as reported this week.

I also do not understand, does she not live local, sure I read that.

At least sge is here, and doing something, anyone heard from polly since the elections?

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Thurrock Trojan says...
1:50pm Fri 20 Jul 12

Jackie Doyle-Price has done naff all for Thurrock apart from alienate her constituency. Mention her name in public and a lot of people complain about her.

More and more people are pouring into Thurrock, mostly foreigners, which has had a negative impact on local infrastructure, schools, local GP surgeries, poor public transport and jobs.

These are the issues Lady Sheffield should be focusing on, not turning schools into academies.

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Bernard 87 says...
1:51pm Fri 20 Jul 12

There's too much blame culture in today's politics, rather than the main parties and councillors actually working together.

One of the biggest problems local authorities are facing nationwide is the amount of council accommodation which is being set aside for immigrants.

Things will get worse from April 2013 when the Housing Benefit Cap comes into effect. More and more people will relocate to Thurrock from London, queue jumping housing waiting lists.

We don't have enough council accommodation or affordable privately rented accommodation. You can thank Margaret Thatcher for this when she sold off council properties in the 1980s, and the situation has worsened year-on-year.

That said, successive governments also need to take their share of the blame because they did nothing to tackle the unacceptable national waiting lists for council accommodation.”

Completely agree. All government are guilty of not rebuilding the council housing which was sold off under the right to buy. I wouldn't expect any council to re-build the same amount of houses sold but I think the period of building none under both Tory and Labour governments made a bad situation worse.

I massively favour the rebuilding of council housing rather than allowing housing associations to do the job. Not flats or concrete estates, but normal streets of housing, with gardens etc which can be given to families who work but cannot afford to buy their own home and have a long history in the area.

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RobF4 says...
1:55pm Fri 20 Jul 12

Bernard 87 wrote:
There's too much blame culture in today's politics, rather than the main parties and councillors actually working together. One of the biggest problems local authorities are facing nationwide is the amount of council accommodation which is being set aside for immigrants. Things will get worse from April 2013 when the Housing Benefit Cap comes into effect. More and more people will relocate to Thurrock from London, queue jumping housing waiting lists. We don't have enough council accommodation or affordable privately rented accommodation. You can thank Margaret Thatcher for this when she sold off council properties in the 1980s, and the situation has worsened year-on-year. That said, successive governments also need to take their share of the blame because they did nothing to tackle the unacceptable national waiting lists for council accommodation.” Completely agree. All government are guilty of not rebuilding the council housing which was sold off under the right to buy. I wouldn't expect any council to re-build the same amount of houses sold but I think the period of building none under both Tory and Labour governments made a bad situation worse. I massively favour the rebuilding of council housing rather than allowing housing associations to do the job. Not flats or concrete estates, but normal streets of housing, with gardens etc which can be given to families who work but cannot afford to buy their own home and have a long history in the area.
fully agree with you Bernard, and like how you have balanced the blame, rather than isolate one party, or one person like some.

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Thurrock Trojan says...
1:58pm Fri 20 Jul 12

By the way, her predecessor, former Local MP Andrew Mackinlay, lives in Tilbury and spend a lot of his time meeting his constituents and tackling local issues.

Andrew Mackinlay retired in April 2010 after serving the people of Thurrock for 18 years, and he worked hard, serving his constituency.

Jackie Doyle-Price is a typical Tory: Completely out of touch with people when she expects us to feel sorry for her millionaire banking friends despite her average constituent suffering at the hands of George Osborne's disastrous austerity cuts.

Even the IMF has now said Osborne's austerity cuts are damaging our economy and a Plan B is urgently needed.

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Thurrock Trojan says...
2:05pm Fri 20 Jul 12

During his first four years as Mayor of London, Boris Johnson built just 68 affordable homes in London. This just may explain why Thurrock has become the dumping ground for London's foreign overspill.

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Thurrock Trojan says...
2:10pm Fri 20 Jul 12

Bernard 87 wrote:
Thanks Ed.

That confirms that Labour who were in power since 2010 (as a minority administration) have had more than enough time to turn things around.20-30 days seems a great deal more realistic than nearly four months.

Interesting post Thurrock Citizen.
I stand corrected and apologise for getting my figures wrong (and thanks to Ed for posting the link).

There has been an unacceptable waiting list for years, so the Tories also need to share their part in this.

Waiting lists will get worse when the benefit cap comes into effect next April.

We ain't seen nothing yet!

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Bernard 87 says...
2:38pm Fri 20 Jul 12

Thanks Rob. I make no excuse for being a Tory but I think all parties make mistakes, the Tories suffered in the 90s because of their blunders and Labour are having their turn now. As for Polly, I'm sure she'll be back soon. As soon as she makes her way down here from Inner London.

I seriously doubt that Andrew Mackinlay lives or has ever lived in Tilbury. Thats something for me to research! I think his office was in Tilbury however.

Thurrock Trojan - Jackie Doyle Price lives in Purfleet, has lived in Purfleet for a fair few years now so at least she is local. She doesn't represent Orsett or Bulphan however, that's Stephen Metcalfe. I have to admit Lady Sheffield does sound much posher than Lady Purfleet!

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Thurrock Trojan says...
3:30pm Fri 20 Jul 12

Andrew Mackinlay does live in Tilbury and he's always been very open about it.

Lady Purfleet-on-Thames if she gets her way!

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Dave_ says...
3:57pm Fri 20 Jul 12

Whatever way you look at it someone within Thurrock Council has not had their eye on the ball.
Why it takes anymore than 2 weeks to get a house relet is a question that needs to be asked. If we have such a chronic shortage and so many waiting, the turnround should be fast. I don't really understand why they need work done before someone moves in. Surely this can be done afterwards (unless it is uninhabitable) just like when you buy a house?
I do however think that as we have had Labour run administrations for the best part of 40 years, that they should shoulder a large part of the blame. They have created the situation.

I don't think you can lay any blame or have any expectations of MPs. We have a problem to be exacerbated at the next election of having more than one MP representing Thurrock and if these are from different parties, I don't see how you will ever get a cohesive approach, especially if the council is a different party again.

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rogwj says...
4:36pm Fri 20 Jul 12

Might be wrong, but I think that former MP Andrew MacKinlay has never lived in Tilbury, or indeed anywhere in Thurrock. He remained in his home county of Surrey, and he was living there in the mid 2000s.

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Mr Disgusted says...
5:19pm Fri 20 Jul 12

There's TWO houses in Hall Avenue,Aveley that have been empty for over three months now both the gardens are now over grown and in a right mess!!!!!!!!!!

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A Dermot says...
7:27pm Fri 20 Jul 12

Thurrock Trojan wrote:
By the way, her predecessor, former Local MP Andrew Mackinlay, lives in Tilbury and spend a lot of his time meeting his constituents and tackling local issues.

Andrew Mackinlay retired in April 2010 after serving the people of Thurrock for 18 years, and he worked hard, serving his constituency.

Jackie Doyle-Price is a typical Tory: Completely out of touch with people when she expects us to feel sorry for her millionaire banking friends despite her average constituent suffering at the hands of George Osborne's disastrous austerity cuts.

Even the IMF has now said Osborne's austerity cuts are damaging our economy and a Plan B is urgently needed.
Andrew Mackinlay never lived in Tilbury - he had a nice detached pad in leafy Surrey.

He had a postal address in Tilbury so residents thought he was living amongst us.

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rogwj says...
8:29pm Fri 20 Jul 12

You are right A Dermot (see my post of earlier today). I have had it confirmed that Andrew MacKinlay never lived in Tilbury or Thurrock, and travelled up from, as you put it, "leafy Surrey".

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Bernard 87 says...
10:23pm Fri 20 Jul 12

I was almost certain that Andrew Mackinlay has never lived in Thurrock. Labour MPs tend to prefer nicer parts of the country rather than live around their constituents. Having said that, Angela Smith is an example of a Labour MP who did live in her constituency...unlik
e Andrew.

I'm amazed at how many council properties are still empty. Lets hope Thurrock council are reading.

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A Dermot says...
7:11am Sat 21 Jul 12

Bernard 87 wrote:
I was almost certain that Andrew Mackinlay has never lived in Thurrock. Labour MPs tend to prefer nicer parts of the country rather than live around their constituents. Having said that, Angela Smith is an example of a Labour MP who did live in her constituency...unlik

e Andrew.

I'm amazed at how many council properties are still empty. Lets hope Thurrock council are reading.
Didn't stop her buying a property in London with her husband and claiming 100% of the mortgage from her MPs expenses - nice little earner.

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A Dermot says...
7:55pm Mon 23 Jul 12

The problems with the Housing Department at Thurrock Council are the fault of the cursed Jonah Cllr Val Morris-Cook - this woman has the reverse Midas touch - where instead of everything she touches turning to gold it turn to sh*t instead.

She wrecked the cleaning and greening department and now she is taking a wrecking ball to housing.

She now wants to be out Police Commisioner - God help us all if she is put in charge of the Counties law and order :(

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